The reassignment allows students who were grandfathered in under the 2007 redistricting plan to stay at West Side. The school system is providing transportation for those students. Rising fifth graders also have the option to stay at West Side.
The plan is expected to affect approximately 37 students.
Ward 3 board member Randy Weiner, who represents West Side Elementary, said he was pleased with the outcome. Board member Jill Mutimer also voted for the reassignment plan.
"I feel good about the reassignment plan because it alleviates the overcrowding at West Side, while touching as few children as possible," Mutimer said.
Board members Tom Smith and Jeanie Carter voted against the reassignment.
"It may have been the best solution, but I wanted more time to process it and deliberate," Smith said. "I just feel a school board should follow a historical process for something like a redistricting. In the past, we've had redistricting committees and had been more deliberate - this has been pretty quick."
Just last week, district executives told board members that the December 2007 redistricting, which sent about 49 Sawyer Road students to West Side, should be reversed for the 2010-11 school year. About 10 of those students are still at West Side. The school system is offering those students transportation if they wish to stay at the school, said Preston Howard, assistant superintendent for operations and policy development.
All of West Side's classrooms are occupied and two gifted classes are housed in trailers, whereas Sawyer Road has four empty classrooms.
"This plan allows MILE (gifted) classes to be moved back into the building and will allow roll up at Westside for the younger grades of K through two," Weiner said.
Mutimer attributes the school's overcrowding to the 2007 redistricting, zoned enrollment growth and the "choice" program.
The district's "choice" program allows students to attend any school regardless of where they live - with some limits such as availability. District leaders suggest reducing the number of kindergarten classes at West Side from five to four, and limit the number of kindergarteners who attend the school by choice. Last February, the district was forced to conduct a lottery for West Side's 12 choice kindergarten slots when 39 families applied. Students who currently attend West Side via the choice program will be able to stay.
Hickory Hills Elementary is also at risk for reassignment, but not until after the 2010-11 school year.
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The question that was posed to us last night was (I hope I remember correctly) "What can we do to change the PERCEPTION that Park Street Elementary is not a good school?"
It is a fact that the perception exists otherwise the question never would have been posed to us last night.
Both my opponent and myself strongly came to the defense of the school.
My opponent mentioned changing the facade of Park Street and the tail end of my answer echoed what I had read here from Angry Taxpayer about the names.
I certainly don't think parents choose simply because of a name but we were asked to address was perception.
It's hard not to offend anyone I mean no disrespect. We are all passionate about our schools.
Lemme try this another way:
If someone from Albuquerque were simply reading about our schools and had absolutely no interest in moving here - what would our school's labels convey?
You gotta admit. Park Street came out on the short end of the naming stick.
Don't get us in a huff.
CITIZEN YOU NEED TO GET OUT AND VOTE NOVEMBER 3RD!
Seems the "Choice" program's needs supercede the needs of the zoned students and no one is owning up to admitting the choice program was poorly administered and allowed to many students to enter the school.
An Mutimer...show me significant zoned enrollment growth numbers.
The "haves" have once again exercised their will over the "have nots".
The 67 choice students seems to be the only ones unaffected by this while the rezoned children will have to not only transistion to a new school, but a whole new curriculum as well.
If there are any OMs running for the board, I hope they fail miserably.
West Side is a fine school as are all our other schools and it's great that folks want to send their children there. But the superintendent needs to quit reinforcing the false perception that anything but West Side is a poor option.
If you were moving here and had the choice of sending your little one to the "Community Academy" next door or the "Talented and Gifted Academy" across town what would you choose?
Just wait until they force the Special Ed kids out of Hickory Hills (due to "overcrowding") and pack them off to Park Street which is more than ill-suited to handle the kids. Teachers there are already at their wit's end.
When are people finally going to wake up and realize the problem starts at the TOP?
Panderers they are, one and all. They keep their well heeled and vocal voters happy with one hand while with the other they've been busy conjuring up more and less effective ways to spend the taxpayers' dollar. This board and superintendent for years now have chased windmills turning on the latest breezes of change coming down from the ivory towers. Now we are mired in programs like MYP that are ineffective and horribly inefficient due to poor implementation and training. Now we have teachers and staff in fear of losing their jobs if they do not tow the party line and act as if things are fine. We have lost sight of our primary objective of educating our children in favor of jumping on the newest educational fad that makes the system look good to the well heeled gentry. And what is worse is that we have failed to keep up with new legislation requiring actions from the schools. At best, the RTI process has been poorly implemented while MYP has been shoehorned (badly) into the middle and high schools.
For their myopia and their misappropriation of our tax dollars, it is time for the board and the superintendent and the entire cabinet to go.