IRVINE — Students at Stonegate Elementary School will go to Sierra Vista Middle School and Northwood High School starting August 2019, as a result of Irvine Unified School District’s effort to deal with what officials describe as “unprecedented growth” in the master-planned city.

The district board on Tuesday, Dec. 12, unanimously approved adjusting boundaries for the Stonegate community to alleviate overcrowding at Jeffrey Trail Middle School and Portola High School. These two new schools are located north of Interstate 5 where much of the city’s housing development is taking place.

“It’s not a decision you want to make, but it’s a decision that has to be made,” board member Lauren Brooks said.

A majority of the eight people who addressed the five-member board were Stonegate parents opposing the boundary changes.

They said they are worried about their children’s safety because they would have to cross the busy Irvine Boulevard to get to Sierra Vista Middle School.

“I respect the difficult position the board is in, but ultimately we are putting a short-term solution to a long-term problem and we can do better,” said Seth Grossman, whose son is a fifth-grader at Stonegate Elementary.

The district began considering boundary changes earlier this year because Jeffrey Trail Middle and Portola were projected to exceed their capacity by fall 2019.

The Boundary Advisory Committee devised four options that would make some students currently assigned to attend these two schools when they get older go to the less crowded but older schools.

However, parents in the Stonegate, Cypress Village and Northwood communities became upset over the possibility that their children may not be able to attend schools closest to their homes or be torn apart from their friends.

After receiving feedback from parents, district staff recommended the option that would affect only Stonegate. Staff said it’s the least disruptive option that allows most students to go to the same high school with their middle school friends.

“At this point, I don’t see a better solution to deal with this reality,” board member Paul Bokota said. “I’m concerned about what would happen to Jeffrey Trail the way it is. I don’t think that’s fair to anybody … to have it get that large.”

However, Jeffrey Trail and Portola could exceed their capacity after 2022 even with the approved boundary changes, according to the district’s projections.

Some say the district should pressure the city and developers to control growth because overcrowding at certain schools is a symptom of a larger problem.

Irvine Unified has been constructing and opening new schools since 2013 to keep up with the population increase, which jumped from 210,000 in 2010 to more than 260,000 in 2016.

The district receives a state-mandated fee from developers, but doesn’t have the authority to approve or deny any project, district officials said. Land use decisions lie with the city.

Board member Ira Glasky defended the city and developers, saying the system is working and there’s enough room to accommodate the growth.

He said school boundaries are designed to be flexible so the district can adjust to a fluctuating student population.

The boundary changes won’t force Stonegate students to switch schools if they are enrolled at Jeffrey Trail or Portola by August 2019, when the changes take effect, according to district staff. Also, students who have siblings attending these schools will also be able to go there.

In addition, the board adjusted boundaries so students from the Los Olivos community, near the I-405/I-5 interchange, will go to University High School instead of Portola.