The first of three community forums to discuss Central Kitsap school configuration will take place this Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Klahowya Secondary School.

The following two will be Monday, April 15, at Central Kitsap High School and Tuesday, April 16, at Olympic High School. Both will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Members of the public are urged to attend the meetings to learn about the configuration process and its consequences. The purpose of the forums is to discuss the issue of configuration, which according to CKSD’s website, “refers to the range of grades that a school comprises.”

The district has been looking into possibly changing the current configuration, due in part to declining enrollment throughout central Kitsap. Along with the changes in configuration, administrators said some form of school closure will probably occur, but likely not until the 2015-16 school year at the earliest.

“No matter what, school closure of some kind is in our future,” Central Kitsap Finance Director David McVicker said last week.

However, McVicker said the purpose of the forums is not to discuss closure but to gather feedback about which grades belong in which schools. Two questions will be the focus of the forums, he said: • Should sixth-graders stay in elementary schools or move to middle schools? • Should ninth-graders stay in junior highs or move up to secondary schools?

The configuration process has been going on since 2007. It was shelved until the end of the 2010-11 school year. According to the current timeline, the school board is scheduled to come to a decision some time toward the end of summer.