By 1808Delaware
The new school year has barely begun, but Olentangy families are already being asked to look ahead to the next two. Olentangy Local Schools has started a districtwide attendance-boundary process tied to the opening of Deer Haven Elementary School in 2027 and the district’s fifth high school in 2028. The process will establish new elementary and high school boundaries while also examining whether middle school assignments should be adjusted to balance enrollment.
No proposed maps have been released. Those will arrive this fall, when the district holds four community forums and opens a public survey on the different scenarios under consideration.
Growth Reaches the School Map
More than 24,500 students began the 2026-27 school year in Olentangy, supported by a staff of more than 3,000 people. The district describes itself as Ohio’s fastest-growing school system, adding more than 400 students in a typical year. That growth is now pushing the district toward another significant reshuffling of attendance areas.
Deer Haven Elementary School, the district’s 18th elementary building, is under development along Bean-Oller Road in Liberty Township, west of Sawmill Road. It is scheduled to open for the 2027-28 school year.
High School No. 5 will follow one year later on Bunty Station Road in the northwestern portion of the district. Its opening is planned for the 2028-29 school year.
Voters approved a $235 million bond issue in November 2025 to finance the two schools and other facility improvements. District officials said the debt could be accommodated without increasing the existing tax rate. Olentangy expects to enroll approximately 2,000 additional students by the time the new high school opens.
More Than Two New Attendance Areas
Although both new buildings will be located in the northwestern part of the district, the redistricting will not necessarily be confined to the neighborhoods immediately surrounding them. The district has described the forthcoming elementary and high school options as districtwide. Its redistricting guidelines call for every building to be used as efficiently as possible while considering projected enrollment, transportation safety, travel times, population patterns and the alignment of elementary, middle and high school attendance areas.
That means a change involving one building can produce adjustments elsewhere as the district tries to preserve feeder patterns and avoid leaving some schools overcrowded while space remains available in others.
The Attendance Boundary Committee includes community members representing different geographic areas and building levels. Members are expected to study enrollment projections, housing patterns, building utilization, transportation routes and existing feeder patterns before recommending a plan.
Four Opportunities to Hear the Options
Olentangy will present the same redistricting information at four community forums:
- Monday, October 26 at 6:30 PM at Olentangy Liberty High School
- Wednesday, October 28 at 6:30 PM at Olentangy Berlin High School
- Monday, November 2 at 6:30 PM at Olentangy High School
- Wednesday, November 4 at 6:30 PM at Olentangy Orange High School
Families do not need to attend more than one session. Each forum will include the same presentation and an opportunity to ask questions about the proposed scenarios. The district will also provide an online survey for people who cannot attend or want to submit additional comments. According to the district’s August 28 announcement, the survey will remain available through November 5.
Committee members will review the public response before making a recommendation to the superintendent. The final decision is scheduled to be announced at the December 10 Board of Education meeting.
What Families Should Know Now
Nothing in the new announcement changes school assignments for the current 2026-27 academic year. Elementary boundary changes will take effect when Deer Haven opens in the fall of 2027. High school boundaries are being planned for the opening of High School No. 5 one year later. Middle school changes remain under evaluation and have not yet been announced. Until the actual scenarios are released, families should be cautious about assuming that a particular neighborhood will move or remain in its current attendance area. The district’s existing attendance-area mapping tool continues to show current assignments, not the boundaries now being developed.
For a district that has repeatedly added schools as southern Delaware County has grown, redistricting is familiar territory. This round, however, reaches across multiple grade levels and will help define how Olentangy accommodates its next several thousand students.
