HERMISTON — New school boundaries will take effect in the Hermiston School District with the start of 2022 school year.

The district’s board approved the boundaries at a recent meeting.

According to a press release from the district, the updated boundaries follow the passage of the 2019 Hermiston school bond. The building of a larger Rocky Heights Elementary School and the addition of a sixth elementary school, Loma Vista.

“The two schools are larger, improved facilities and will accommodate more students, which will help to alleviate overcrowded conditions at the remaining sites. The increased campus sizes of the new buildings, along with capacity issues across the remaining campuses, necessitates adjustments to elementary and middle school attendance boundaries,” according to the press release.

The release explained the district administration and the boundary committee, consisting of parents, board members and school personnel, presented the boundary proposal to the board. The committee analyzed school attendance areas, population growth, housing density studies and feeder school scenarios. Middle school boundaries will be determined by a family’s physical address and where it falls relative to Highway 395, to the west or the east. Students of Desert View, West Park and Rocky Heights elementary schools will attend Armand Larive Middle School, and Highland Hills, Sunset and Loma Vista Elementary students will attend Sandstone Middle School.

“Adjusting boundaries is a community effort,” Tricia Mooney, superintendent of schools, said in the press release. “Thank you to the boundary committee members for their insight and time. The team made every effort to affect as few students as possible; although, some changes were necessary to fill the new school and relieve crowding at the remaining campuses.”

Letters from the district went to kindergarten through seventh grade students to inform each family of their child’s school for the next school year.

The school district also urged families to contact the school or district office if they are concerned the identified school is inaccurate.