Salina - Best school district? (appointed, for rent, houses)

[JasonK94Z]

May be having to think about a move to Salina, KS. We have a 1st grader and a 2nd grader, and to me their schooling is the most important thing to my wife and I. I would like to know which school district in Salina is the best. With that, i will start looking for a house to rent in that area.

Thanks in advance for the replies!

[thriftylefty]

Meadowlark Ridge, if I remember correctly, is one of the good schools its "up on the Hill " figuratively and literally speaking. Stewart is newer . It is in a area that I remember that must of been developed in the 70's, lots of very neatly kept tract houses as I remember it. I would look there. Salina used to have Schilling AFB , The used to still have some of the Military base houses for rent, there was a lot uniformity there at one time. Sunset was a good school but its in a older part of town. I would describe Salina as very family oriented. Nice parks, they had a YMCA and YWCA back then, and a great Public Library.
Salina Schools

[quesera]

I would go with Stewart first, then Meadowlark Ridge. When we lived in Salina, they had just changed the boundaries, so my daughter went to Schilling and the neighbor girl across the street went to Stewart... divided right down the middle of the street. Schilling was alright, but we bought our house when it was in the Stewart zone, so were a bit disappointed when boundaries were redrawn. For the most part, any of the elementary schools would be fine. It's mostly a matter of where you can afford to live. Meadowlark Ridge (up on the hill... local vernacular for the rich part of town) is in a more expensive part of town. Stewart is about mid-range for cost of housing. Coronado and Heusner are in similarly priced parts of town as Stewart. Cottonwood and Oakdale are in older parts of town, with homes that would cost less to purchase/rent. Schilling had a lot of newish homes in the area, but it's near the old air base, with base housing - a lot of duplexes, mostly single level ranch homes with no basements.

I actually really like Salina. I think it's a very family friendly small city with great parks and a good selection of things for kids to do through the park and rec dept of the city.

[Ranger12]

You asked about the best "school district." Everything inside of Salina is http://www.USD305.com. There are some country schools but generally you have to live outside of the city limits to go there although they do grant exemptions.

If you attend USD 305 I would recommend Meadowlark, Stewart or Coronado for Grade Schools. You have to live in the designated area to attend said school. They are no longer granting waivers. (Meadowlark is referred to as the "snob" school because it is "on the hill" which means a wealthy area of town. ) Still it is a good school, just don't go there looking to impress anyone unless you have lots of cash.

Looking to the future, this school district is going to have issues because the population is quickly shifting to the south and east in Salina. In the very near future, the boundaries will have to be redrawn so things could change. I believe they will shift boundaries so kids living nearer Oakdale, Sunset and Cottonwood that currently attend crowded schools (Meadowlark, Coronado, Stewart) will likely get moved to one of the uncrowded ones.

When the kids get to High School there is another matter. You have Salina South which is getting overcrowded and Salina Central which is losing students. An interesting thing about Salina Central is that it is comprised of the richest and poorest kids in the city.

Salina South is more middle to upper income but still with some poorer families because of newer income based housing in the area.