I don't disagree with the logic, but you seem to think this happens in a politics-free vacuum where we all reach the most logically sound conclusion and then execute on it. I think you and I both know better than that.
Why school district boundaries are apparently set in stone and can never be changed, I have no idea, but they are. And even if they could change, if you're North Polk right now in this new environment where you're now competing for students, why would you give up that growth and the dollars that come with it?
I'd think they could in theory swap growth in Polk City (currently going to Ankeny) for growth in Ankeny (currently going to NP). It's a place for the state to raise this and see if the two districts could come to an agreement that would secure similar growth for both districts (if in fact Ankeny CSD even wants to capture this growth) while reducing travel distance for a majority of the students.
Allemen is more towards the center of the district, and therefore when the district was formed it seemed like the correct place distance wise for everyone. No one thought that the population of Polk City would explode like it has and become the much larger town in the district.
Its hard to close a district or have one of the towns that has a school lose it to another town. In some of these towns the school is the major jobs provider, Gilbert is the same way, all the growth in the district is to the South and West of the town, but at least they are all located in Gilber.
They just built a new school a few years ago, when Polk City had already grown and become the overwhelming source of students. That's a perfect time to revisit this. And yes, they took the typical dumb Iowa school view and decided rather than build the new school where a vast majority of the students are, let's drop in the middle of a glorified windbreak with no businesses, barely any kids so EVERY kid has to get bussed or drive to the school. That way the 5 kids from Elkhart only have to travel 8 miles instead of 16 or whatever it is.
My hometown they hung on to the school and operated the middle school for years when like 95% of the students were getting bussed from the other town. Eventually the school leadership put an end to that nonsense and shut down the school. It was basically mostly old people in the town clinging to the school at the expense of the students.
But it doesn't matter now, the school is built at NP. But things like this drive me crazy.