Board Progress Review Minutes

Interesting meeting, first time I have seen the board in action, lots of viewpoints articulated and back and forth discussion. There was much concern about the transfer process but I wanted to focus on the main boundary issue here tonight, 2 main topics: Jackson and #27 boundary.

The board continually came back to the main goals of the boundary process: align feeders, balance enrollment.

The first issue was reducing enrollment at Jackson which received so much attention earlier in the process. The board made it clear that the committee should make a recommendation and address the issue of overcrowding at Jackson now. One board member pointed out that, in all likelihood, some of the same parents complaining about leaving Jackson were complaining about overcrowding at the school in the recent past. If Jackson isn't fixed now, it will just delay the necessary. Direction: Reduce Jackson enrollment.

The second issue was with proposed boundaries for school #27. The main concern expressed by board members was that the plan was to temporarily move Ladd Acres kids into #27 then, eventually, move them back. This would result in kids moving from Century feeder (Ladd Acres) to Hilhi feeder (#27) then back to Century. This was understandably a sticking point as it would create another 'portable' community. One board member clearly stated that she had a problem with the temporary move, but had no problem with kids from north of TV hwy staying at #27, it was the flip-flopping that disturbed committee members. They recognized that overcrowding at Ladd Acres needs addressed.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Mr. Pérez summarized the concerns as "Pull #27 students from Hilhi feeder, fix Ladd Acres by moving students within Century feeder". I hope I misunderstood his summary. It could have just as easily been summarized as "Pull #27 students from Ladd Acres permanently, send them to Hilhi feeder". There was a suggestion that there was some room in Tobias despite the reality that there are plans for 198 homes inside the Tobias boundary based on current permits from 2007, land is being cleared for the 2 largest developments right now. There is a 75 home development actively building inside Indian Hills boundary right now.

With the direction as summarized by Mr. Pérez, if I understood his statement correctly, the schools inside the Brown/Century feeder are going to be asked to shift students around without getting any relief from the new school.

Are the needs of imaginary students that will eventually occupy #27 in S. Hillsboro taking priority over the needs of real students north of TV highway currently stuffed into Reedville, Ladd Acres and Imlay and, soon to be stuffed in Tobias and Indian Hills?

I hope not.

If #27 is expected to quickly fill in from S. Hillsboro, I would like to see data showing when those 600 kids will materialize - how was the model created and is it realistic? It is a grand vision that is a long way from producing actual results, especially given the current economic trends.

I imagine a future blog post, a few years from now, simply a picture of school #27 sitting all alone, surrounded by empty fields, with a few Head Start buses in the parking lot, otherwise empty.