A long process that’s just beginning could ultimately result in the closure of one of Oak Harbor’s six elementary schools.

In the next couple of months, a committee to review boundaries of Oak Harbor schools will form. The committee will examine boundaries and make adjustments to make sure class sizes in the schools stay level.

School officials are also considering whether to include talking about closing an elementary school as part of the discussion.

Student enrollment has been declining in recent years. District-wide declining enrollment became a budget issue last month when lower-than-expected enrollment resulted in a $733,000 reduction in the school district’s budget.

That declining enrollment has also resulted in empty space in the district’s elementary schools.

“Every elementary school has at least one empty classroom,” Schulte said.

Enrollment at elementary schools has declined in recent years by more than 500 students, from a high of 2,899 students in the 1999-2000 school year to a current low of 2,334 students.

From an individual school perspective, enrollment is highest at Hillcrest Elementary with 480 students and lowest at Clover Valley Elementary with 314 students. Schulte said the number difference between schools doesn’t necessarily mean any school is overcrowded. Some can accommodate more students than others.

School officials are busy developing criteria for the committee to use when examining school boundaries. Schulte said one of those criterion could be whether the district should conduct a feasibility study about closing a school.

He hasn’t talked about the subject with staff or the school board yet. He added the teachers’ union questioned whether a school closure was a possibility and he couldn’t say such an action was impossible.

Before any significant talk of a school closure could take place, a number of unanswered questions need to be answered first.

Schulte said officials need to know how new home construction will affect Oak Harbor schools. While it’s easy to assume that more homes would equate to additional students enrolled in school, recent construction hasn’t borne that out. He was hesitant to draw a conclusion about that trend as well. It could also mean families with young children not yet ready for school are moving into the district.

“Given our decreasing student population, we need to consider whether it’s more efficient to operate with one less school,” Schulte said. “This is a discussion we need to have as a community.”

Hundreds of new homes have been built in Oak Harbor during the last five years and hundreds more are being planned, mostly within the current Hillcrest Elementary School boundary. More than 400 homes are either built, under construction or are going to be built and another 693 homes are going through the application process. An additional 116 homes are being built at Maylor Point and Saratoga Heights, which are within the current boundary of Olympic View Elementary School.

Nevertheless, elementary schools in Oak Harbor are operating at 78 percent capacity with 16 classrooms expected to be empty in 2007-2008.

Another factor that could affect classroom space is upcoming state legislation. The governor’s office just released its Washington Learns report. One of the main goals that came out of the report is for schools to offer all-day kindergarten. Should funding go through that would allow that, it would basically double the number of classrooms needed for kindergarten students.

Those are some of the questions that need answering should the school district decide to move forward with discussions to close schools.

“There’s too many unknowns to be concrete right now,” Schulte said.