Tonight, HoCo BOE directed the superintendent to restart the redistricting process again for the year 2020. I want to make sure we are doing it right this time.
I specifically asked the following to be investigated:
1) if redistricted, HCPSS will probably open all schools for development. Considering our continous debate on APFO, I want to know how this affect school open/close chart and how many more students will be generated. Right now, our school construction(capital projects) just could not catch up with our student growth. This is why we are crowded now. By comprehensive redistricting, we will have more capacity issue even we temporarily solve the number issue for the moment. Please see the open seat calculation based on each school https://chaowu.org/2019/01/21/2018-hcpss-open-seat-calculation-and-projection/.
2) check how many students will be redistricted twice or how many isolated island in polygons. considering the new high school #13 will open in two years (after this)with more than 1600 capacity.
3) what are the travel time, transportation cost for the redistricting proposal? for example, the same distance on 108 may cost 5 minutes, but 25 minutes on Route 1. Maybe the new proposal will save time or cost. maybe not. We need a baseline number.
My suggestion on defining the objective of this redistricting before hiring a consultant was rejected unfortunately by other board members. I want to make sure this BOE will not make the same mistake as the previous BOE on the school starting time investigation. They spent money on consultant and found the solutions were not acceptable at all.
My suggestion on quantifying Policy 6010 was not up. We should put more objective performance indicators in the process. We know redistricting will put many people in high emotion with various reasons. Without sorting this out from the start, it will face obstacles in the future. There are people who want to move other people’s kids. There are people who dont’ want to move at all even at a crowded school. There are people who value their community schools, etc. I saw them all and talked to them all.
I am afraid we will end the same cycle as last year. Let’s try to disrupt our students as less as possible.
Keep tuned. I am looking forward to your feedback again. The board email is boe@hcpss.org.
Thank you so much for keeping us posted on this. Both my elementary school and middle schoolers were effected by the redistricting this past year. Which is not an issue at all. The high school we attended was obviously not changed. So we are not part of one of the “small feeds” to high school. So my middle schooler had to change schools in 7th grade and make all new friends, which has turned out wonderfully for her. However, all of these new friends and classmates will be going to a different high school than she is. So she will have to readjust and be the new kid all over again in 9th grade. If HCPSS is going to redistrict, please take all of these things into consideration. These are children, middle and high school are hard enough on them. Not taking into consideration where a group of redistricted students will attend at the next level of schooling after they are redistricted is not taking the child into consideration.
That should say “we are now part of one of the “small feeds”.
Heidi, thanks for your feedback. I always believe HCPSS should be a student focused school system.
Can you let media spread your position? Your narratives are very reasonable and neutral, should be heard by your constitutents.
There are polygons with children in the classes of 2023 and 2024 that were moved in elementary and middle and we are rounding errors as far as the number of students. The board just moved these kids in middle school and it has been extremely difficult. These children deserve to be able to finish their school years undistrubted. The board actually needs to consider the actual children that are being impacted.
Kristin, thanks for the feedback. I am taking the note.
The classes of 2023 and 2024 will have been affected 3 times if redistricting takes place next year. In 2020 they will be going into 9th and 10th grade. They are still adjusting to moving middle schools which has been difficult. Please don’t let this fact escape the boards attention. The last round of redistricting was a farce.
Helen, thanks for your feedback. The school should try not to disturb students too much.
Will polygon size be addressed prior to redistricting this time? Our polygon is huge, includes train tracks and two separate neighborhoods that are inaccessible to each other and require a highway or long back road trip to reach.
Kelly, thanks for your feedback. We can ask the school take a look at it. What is the polygon number?