School Re-districing

November 9, 2007 9:18 AM

How do we do about fighting school re-districting?

Our school district is going though growing and shrinking pains and wants to change the boundaries of some of our schools. One of the changes will affect our family. Our schools are on average excellent, but our children will change from one of the best elementary schools in the district and state (ranked #16 statewide) to one that is ranked #122 statewide and the 2nd worst school in the district.

There is a public meeting to be held in a couple of weeks, but I suspect that it is a mere formality to give the appearance caring about collecting input from parents. If anyone has any experience fighting this action, please chime in.

Any suggestions you can provide, short of legal action, would be greatly appreciated.

posted by internal to education (7 comments total)

You may be able to ask to see the demographic data the district is using to make the decisions. I would suspect that the boundary changes aren't arbitrary but rather are based on changing demographic data. Where the demographer got the data, how accurate, and how recent the data may be points about which you'd be able to argue.
posted by tayknight at 9:44 AM on November 9, 2007

Alternatively, if you can't fight the redistricting, you should learn about what your school district's policies are regarding open enrollment.
posted by parilous at 10:06 AM on November 9, 2007

Yep... open enrollment and "grandfathering" where they allow children (perhaps whole families of siblings) to continue to attend the old school after the change.

Alternately, look into why the other school is #122. If it is due to parental participation in the PTA, fundraising, etc., perhaps you can bring that to the new school.
posted by Doohickie at 10:24 AM on November 9, 2007

Why is the school so 'bad'? (fsvo bad -- I would have loved to be in an elementary school ranked in the top 150 in the state, or to send my kids to one of them.) Facilities, staff, parent involvement (or lack thereof), student behaviour, high percentage of LD kids? My guess, knowing nothing about the district other than what you've told us, is that it's parent involvement, both at the school and at home.

If they're shuffling school boundaries, are they changing staff as well?

Honestly, smart kids with motivated parents can get a decent education just about anywhere, and while elementary school is important, once they get out of the building no-one will care which k-5 school they were in. They'll be feeding into the same middle school and high school program that they would have before. Who knows, an influx of motivated kids into the 'bad' school may improve things.
posted by jlkr at 10:26 AM on November 9, 2007

Being a kid who was seriously dicked in school redistricting, look into private school or forced enrollment in the school you want. (Word of warning with forced enrollment: you might not get bus service and will have to drop off/pick up the kid every day.)

(However, I quickly realized that the redistricting meant I got to go to a school that was actually better for me in the long term. FWIW, this was high school.)
posted by sperose at 10:51 AM on November 9, 2007

If you are up for real hardball, let your superintendent and board know that if you are not allowed to send your children to the school you want and that you were previously able to, you will consider spearheading a class action suit by all homeowners newly excluded from the catchment of the desirable school, seeking to recover lost home value. The desirability of the schools a resident can send their kids to is more and more a significant factor in real estate valuations. A sophisticated real estate agent might be able to give you a dollar figure for the loss for your particular house.
posted by jamjam at 11:14 AM on November 9, 2007

One thing you might explore:

from :
Schools that receive federal Title I funds (based on percentage of students from low-income families) that have not made state-defined adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two consecutive school years must be identified as needing school improvement before the beginning of the next school year. Immediately after a school is found to be in need of improvement, school officials must receive help and technical assistance. These schools must develop a two-year plan to turn around the school. Every student in the school must be given the option to transfer to another public school in the district (one that has not been identified as in need of improvement) with transportation, subject to a spending cap, provided by the school district.

Examine the school report card and learn if there is compliance with federally mandated NCLB standards. If not, you can request a transfer to a different school within your district.
posted by project 2501 at 6:29 PM on November 9, 2007