Changes will go into effect when school starts in August
For the second year, Morgan Hill School District administrators are considering student transfer requests between the district’s two comprehensive high schools.
Sobrato High opened in August with ninth and 10th grade students and will add 11th grade students for its second year in the fall.
Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini told trustees that 57 students have been granted transfers to Live Oak High, and 51 students have been granted transfers to Sobrato. The changes would be effective with the start of school in August 2005.
“These are intradistrict transfers,” she said. “These are not kids from outside the district.”
Of the transfers to Live Oak, 42 are freshmen, 11 are sophomores and four are juniors. Sobrato transfers include 38 freshmen, eight sophomores and five juniors.
The applications for these transfers, Tognazzini told trustees, were received during the district’s open and choice enrollment period Jan.6-31.
She said seven more applications for transfer into Live Oak were received after Jan. 31. Those students are on a waiting list, she said.
Trustee Peter Mandel said he would like to notify the seven students that they can transfer. He said he did not understand why their transfers could not be accepted now.
“We continue to accept choice placement applications during the year, so what’s the basis for us not taking them?” he asked.
Superintendent Carolyn McKennan explained that the Jan. 31 date is district policy.
“This is the same policy we’ve always had,” she said. “Choice occurs all year long but the difference is we have this cutoff date.
This is a chance to create master schedules at the schools. It is a time-out for us to have a chance to look at that schedule.”
Tognazzini said the seven students wanting to transfer into Live Oak could possibly be granted their request. Once the schedules are complete at the two schools, it will be possible to see if there are openings.
“That (waiting) list will continue to grow as it gets closer to the opening of school,” she said. “We have tried to do straight trades … Usually, you won’t find that the students take the same classes.”
She said it is likely more transfers can be granted.
Tognazzini said the capacity at Sobrato next year will be 1,500, and the projected enrollment is 1,023.
Live Oak’s projected enrollment for next year is 1,594. The school’s “portable village” will likely be removed, said Tognazzini, if the modernization of buildings 500, 550, 600 and 700 takes place over the summer.
Three portables would remain, but 15 or 16 could be removed. Tognazzini said the district spends approximately $144,000 per year for the portables.
If there were 29 students per classroom per period, 55 classrooms would be needed to house them, she said. If the modernization take place, 61 classrooms will be available. But student course selection makes it unlikely the district could schedule 29 students per classroom each period, she said.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106, ext. 202
