Public Meeting #2: Visible Progress

IHBoundary Comments:
No changes announced for any boundary from Plan #3.
From the start of today's meeting it was clear that the process is running much smoother on the committee side and that parents are getting more engaged. Both are good for the district. About 100 were in attendance per my 4th grader's count.

Robin's presentation was very much improved since public meeting #1, no doubt it required a lot of work to prepare but it was worth it - crisp clear pages with a laser pointer to guide the attendees through the plan. It amazes me how many of the details are in her head, she must dream of every little cul de sac and development in the district at night.

Indian Hills Team Spirit
There was at least one parent from Indian Hills who spoke up and urged the committee to leave Indian Hills unchanged, he has 5 kids in the boundary. He thanked the committee for their hard work. One parent who is currently in Reedville commented that all of the kids in her neighborhood will be at Indian Hills and requested their small cul de sac with 2 kids be moved with the bulk of the neighborhood to IH. More detail on that later.

Intro by Deputy Superintendent Pérez
Nice smooth intro, he hit all of the major themes that are hot buttons for parents and the real driving factors in the boundary change process. He did well later in the session when parents directly addressed questions to him, very straightforward and clear answers. Map presentation was much clearer as mentioned.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Jackson
Parents For Jackson, apparently in unity with folks from the area south of Evergreen between 15th and Jackson School - they were nicely organized and had a clear message. They have hit the streets in the neighborhood with 200 fliers with many opposing the plan #3 boundary. They asked the committee to consider the need for a rich social environment, strong ties with the neighborhoods, sports, playgroups, etc. Friends will be much further away, geographically grouped areas are important for social interaction. The parents preferred Plan 1/2 which moved apartments out of Jackson. I think they went off course when they stated that it would be easier for apartments to move than home owners, and that they are more supportive of school activities. They ended up sounding like "let's move the poor people". A later commenter noted that kids in apartments already have enough instability, school can be the one stable element in their life.

Another parent from Jackson later commented on the need for kids to be able to walk to a neighborhood school, some parents don't have good transportation options, it also improves after-school activities. She noted that they had picked their home partially based on being inside the Jackson boundary and would appreciate at very least some sort of "grandfather" policy to allow kids to finish with the school they started with.

Ladd Acres to Tobias
One parent (a constant attender at almost all meetings to-date) noted that the designation of the section moving out of Ladd Acres as "portable" should apply to all neighborhoods on buses, not just the Ladd Acres families. Another parent from the area noted that Tobias state test scores are much lower than other schools in the area and that bullying is an issue for kids waiting for daycare buses at Tobias. She also noted that there is no way for kids to safely cross Corn Pass if walking.

Hilhi to Liberty, drop in Hilhi enrollment concerns
One parent from Brookwood noted that youth programs at elementary levels lead to participation in HS programs, they create relationships with adults that impact them positively and follow them as they move into HS. Liberty is across the highway, not down the street. Additional commute time across Hillsboro (esp. given traffic) limits parental involvement in school activities, less parental activity is bad for students and schools.

Another parent was concerned about the impact to Hilhi; he had seen big shifts when Century and Liberty opened leading to setbacks for Hilhi parental involvement and student pride that has taken years to rebuild. Brookwood considers itself as part of the Hilhi 'neighborhood'. It is the oldest HS, keep it strong, reconsider taking Brookwood out of Hilhi feeder.

Another Brookwood/Hilhi parent had questions for DS Pérez:
When you reduce numbers in a school, what effect does it have on a school?
CP – Anytime you drop a school enrollment it impacts number of teachers based on teacher/student ratio requirements as well as funds, budgetary impact to school.

Is there a timeline to make up the drop in attendance at Hilhi?
CP – there are a number of areas that will be growing, Witchhazel has grown, plus areas in South Hillsboro reserve that will be coming in with Metro boundary change pending. Continued infill expected where parcel goes from 1 home to 6 homes, higher density phenomenon. The district averages .5 kids for every residence.

Parent concluded with comments about Hilhi, noting as another parent did that since Century was added they have battled getting parental support, improving test scores, etc. Encourages committee to consider impact to neighborhoods and keep them intact. A kid at Hilhi should have the same opportunity as kids at any other HS. Parents that have to drive a long distance don’t engage as much in school activities.

A parent from Bald Peak explored the impact of factors like SES and student language on decision process, directed to DS Pérez, concerned about impact on Hilhi.
CP - language or ethnicity not a factor, for example ELL (English Language Learner) is a constantly moving number, not easy to measure and thus not very useful in a boundary decision and has been a very limited consideration in the current process. SES is easily determined by applications for free/reduced lunch. The district is not going to 'gerrymander' areas to balance SES, only will look at contiguous areas or those in close proximity to a boundary line. SES is definitely part of the equation, one school may be at 70% and another at 30%, if that can be mitigated, they will try to reduce, not looking for a particular goal number. Eastwood is an example, plan #3 increases SES % significantly and that is a factor.

David Hill/Boscow Barnes
Finally, one parent inquired about SES (lunch assistance) ratios for Boscow Barnes and she believes it is very high. She noted that there are big differences in schools just in fund raising: David Hill was able to raise only $7k recently while a neighboring school raised ~$40k in comparison. [ed. - I think IH was at about $10k per the same metric] She also made a passionate statement about how kids in apartments need stability as noted above, very articulate and moving.

Final IHBN Thought:
I'm worried about David Hill and Boscow Barnes families. They already feel excluded because their school identity is being destroyed, Farmington View doesn't want the David Hill kids and they are being treated like the proverbial red-headed stepchild. Schools in the district should be welcoming these families - community extends beyond school boundary lines.

Note: These notes are based on my own observations, I will review the official minutes when they are published and make any needed corrections. It isn't always easy to hear every word of every comment. If you have any corrections, please let me know and I will correct any factual errors immediately.