Open Enrollment set to Favor Eighth-Graders

A special Board of Education meeting onWednesday night at outlined proposed changes to open enrollment for the 2011-2012 school year and unveiled some prelimnary ideas about the transition of students to three middle schools.

When it's made public, the transition plan presentation will be posted on the Huron Valley Schools website. Highlights of the plan include:

• Special activities to mark the closing of Highland Middle School.
• Welcoming activities to allow students and parents to tour the new buildings they will attend prior to the first day of school. The events are designed to meet new classmates and parents to meet new parent-board members.
• Since students will be relocated to three different middle schools, officials said they were committed to ensuring that adequate technology tools and books follow the transferring students.
• Decisions to relocate staff will be based on academic and student needs, individual certifications, staff preferences and contractual guidelines.

Transportation research is still being done, but the following is being considered:

• Officials said they are working to make sure no route to school is longer than 30 minutes.
• The district also is working to split the school start times for middle and high school students, so that they are not riding the bus together.

Open enrollment has been a controverial issue since the announcement that one middle school would close. After much discussion Wednesday, the majority of the Board agreed that they favored open enrollment in a limited capacity, even though they don't have the authority to decide if it will remain in place.

Officials had been concerned that continuing districtwide open enrollment would result in overcrowding in schools, but they have proposed changes to address the issue. The plan is to limit enrollment in the middle schools to eighth-graders  first. And then if increased enrollment won't cause overcrowding, consideration would be given to some 6th and 7th-graders.

Trustees Rebecca Walsh and Sean Carlson were in favor of open enrollment, but not the new provisions favoring 8th-graders. They said they want to stick with old practices.

Trustees Lisa Blackwell, John Knight, Bonnie Brown and Lindsay Cotter favored the new open enrollment recommendations.

Board President Charles Dittmar said he is opposed to open enrollment altogether.

No automatic “grandfathering” will be provided next year, offcials said. All students are expected to attend their newly assigned home school. Anyone seeking a new school must apply for open enrollment.

Applications for open enrollment are due April 18, and a decision will be sent to families by May 6. Applications will not be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis, the district said.

In addition to this transition process, Huron Valley Schools also is grappling with how to handle proposed budget cuts for all districts in the state. Several faculty members spoke during the evening’s public forum and encouraged community members to send letters to representatives in Lansing urging Gov. Rick Snyder to rethink his plan to cut $407 per pupil.

“Let’s be clear, we have unprecedented budget cuts to be made,” said Michigan Education Association President, Mike MacGregor. "People in Lansing need to hear from us. Every school employee must stand together on this issue, and we have to do it now.”

See the gallery section of this article for a copy of the sample letter that Superintendent, Jackie Johnston, recommends community members personalize and send to their state representatives.