Although the advantages of the proposed secondary boundary –
alternate 7 for those keeping tabs – outweigh the disadvantages,
there are still problems that make it unacceptable to some
families, according to comments during a public forum held Tuesday
night.
Although the advantages of the proposed secondary boundary – alternate 7 for those keeping tabs – outweigh the disadvantages, there are still problems that make it unacceptable to some families, according to comments during a public forum held Tuesday night.
“We still have a lot of decisions to make,” Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Branco said during the meeting. “There are a lot of little walls to jump over, even once the board makes it’s decision, before we can put something in place.”
Boundaries are being drawn at the secondary level to prepare for the projected opening of Sobrato High in August 2004.
The board is scheduled to made a decision on secondary (middle and high schools) boundaries Monday night during its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. in the District Office, 15600 Concord Circle.
Board members all agreed that they liked alternate 7 – because it offers more room for students to choose which high school they would attend – when it was presented at the Oct. 20 board meeting.
Approximately 40 people, including all seven School Board trustees and Superintendent Carolyn McKennan, attended Tuesday’s forum at the District Office.
Boundary facilitator and Sobrato High Principal Rich Knapp was ill and did not attend. Branco led the meeting.
“One of the things that came out loud and clear from the board was ‘give us enough room so parents can have choice,’” Branco said as she described the alternative.
Sobrato’s proposed opening year, 2004-2005 for ninth and 10th graders, there would only be room for approximately 50 students not in the Live Oak boundary to choose to attend Live Oak instead of Sobrato.
The next year that changes drastically with several hundred slots available, and the third year would allow even more space for choice.
Many of the parents, particularly those that would have ninth graders next year, were concerned about the lack of space for transfers at Live Oak next year.
“I’m concerned because I have a ninth grader, and I would like her to be able to finish high school in the same place she starts,” said parent Ruth Detmers, who has researched aspects of the various boundary options, attended meetings and been an advocate for students at El Toro Elementary and Nordstrom Elementary who would like to attend Britton Middle School and Live Oak. “It’s very likely there wouldn’t be room for her at Live Oak next year, even if there would be in her sophomore year.”
One of the parents suggested leaving some of the Live Oak portables the district was planning to remove next year on the campus for an additional year to provide the needed room. Many of the parents voiced agreement with this suggestion.
Branco said she would take the suggestion to the board.
The district had planned to remove eight portables from the campus next year, and four each the following two years.
Detmers also asked how choice would be determined. She read from board policy, which says that if the number of applicants for a school exceed the number of available slots, the decision will be made by lottery.
McKennan said it would be a board action to change the policy, if it was changed.
“The board may want to take a look at that,” she said.
Another concern for some was distance, not just being close enough to a school to be able to walk to it, but being transported from one end of the district to the other.
Several parents at the meeting are residents of the southwest portion of the district in San Martin. They were concerned because, if the board accepts alternate 7, their children would attend Sobrato,located on Burnett Avenue just north of the Morgan Hill city limits.
Transportation was a big concern of many of the parents. McKennan emphasized that if there are sufficient number of students to fill up a bus, the district would offer a route. Many parents were concerned that the 9th and 10th graders at both Sobrato and live Oak High would not have a bus.
The idea of a district-wide survey was brought up, to collect information on choice, which school the parents wanted their students to attend, on transportation, how much interest there is in buses for the freshmen and sophomores, and on ethnicity, to make sure with choice ethnic balance remains.
Branco said the idea would be presented to the board but did not comment further.
The boundary committee and board has also looked at elementary boundaries and is scheduled to make a decision on those in January. According to district officials, elementary boundaries are being redrawn to relieve overcrowding at some schools and to balance the district ethnically and socio-economically.
