Editor's note: Updated at 1:48 p.m. on Jan. 19 with the date the new boundaries will become effective and enrollment figures.

During its first board meeting of the year, the Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD) unanimously voted to approve new internal enrollment boundaries, a move they said would make their school's capacities more efficient. The new boundaries took effect immediately.

The new boundaries will affect enrollment at Oak Knoll Elementary in Menlo Park and Encinal Elementary in Atherton. However, students will be grandfathered in, meaning those from the area that changed zones could continue to attend their current schools.

"To be very clear, we have no plans at all to move any current students or families unless they request to shift their school preference," said Superintendent Kristen Gracia at the meeting. "We're not interested in disrupting our current students and families' experience in our district."

The district said the move was intended to alleviate anticipated enrollment increases near Encinal School's former zone due to new housing developments and other projects. In particular, the new Middle Plaza mixed-use development on El Camino Real, developed by Stanford University, is expected to increase enrollment at Encinal. The district also said that Oak Knoll has more of an ability to take on and accommodate an increased number of students.

"Encinal's enrollment was concerning," added Gracia. She said the district used a demographer's data to reach these conclusions and that she had not heard any concerns from the community since the changes were recommended during a December board meeting.

"It's clear to me that our community, at this point, has no major concerns or anything. Nothing has come our way to make us weary of the shift," Gracia said. "It's being well received. Staff will communicate the outcome of tonight's decision to the community."

Gracia added that the demographer anticipated the possibility of an increase in the neighborhood of 10-20 new students enrolling per year, accumulating over time. This means about 50-100 new students would potentially come from the impacted area that is now part of the Oak Knoll School zone within five years.

Another reason the district said it felt the need to change zoning was for safety reasons, saying students would have shorter walks and safer routes to school under the new boundaries.

Enrollment for the 2024-25 school year begins on Feb. 1.