Indian Hills Team Spirit
We had our Energizer Bunny™ PTO officer on hand along with a couple parents (myself included) and a school staff member who came to hear about Indian Hills and discovered that her high schooler may be affected by the change.
Note: no changes considered for IH boundary at this meeting.
Intro by Deputy Superintendent Pérez Carlos addressed parents prior to public comments and let them know that the main focus for the meeting would be addressing concerns from Eastwood and Brookwood parents that came out in Public Meeting #1.
He stated that, while work was going to be done tonight (eventually designated plan #4), Plan #3 would be presented at Thomas on Thursday, the same plan that was shown at Evergreen. He said they would attempt to address the Eastwood and Brookwood concerns at the meeting but would not be showing modified maps. The meeting will be in Thomas auditorium, not the library, based on the Evergreen meeting which was quite crowded.
Public Comments- A parent from Butternut Creek expressed a desire to change from SouthMeadows/HilHi to Brown/Century since it didn't seem to make sense to drive by Century on the way to take his kids to school and that it seemed like it isolated them from friends in the Reedville area. I see his point, I thought there might be an easier way to get to Hilhi from that neighborhood but TV Hwy is really the most direct route.
- A parent from Eastwood brought up that the part of the Eastwood boundary being removed included many of the most active parents in the school. She also expressed concern that the school was already challenged from a socioeconomic point of view and the plan #3 boundary would only make it worse.
Committee Feedback from Public Meeting #1
Aside from noting the need to move from the library to the auditorium, the committee noted that larger school names on the maps would help and that if there was a 2nd set of maps in the hallway, that may facilitate discussion before and after the meeting. It was also noted that Robin should have her own computer. Carlos said that they would have a computer that he and Robin would share for the presentation and that they would not rely on the
VersaTrans school transportation GIS system for presenting but would use slides instead to make the process smoother.
Eastwood and Brookwood
The core meeting started with a close look at the boundary for both schools. Robin noted that planning for this area is very hard because they will take out a single home and turn it into a development with 10 homes. They are considering pulling much of the Eastwood boundary back to original boundary with the exception of areas south of baseline for plan #4. This started a more general discussion of impact on feeders and the balloons began drifting around the room. While the balloons drifted, it was clear that the committee was much more focused than in the last meeting and you could track the process much more clearly.
It was noted several times that, while VersaTrans may spit out an enrollment number, actual enrollment may differ significantly due to transfers and home schooling.
Orenco and Butternut Creek
Because of the need to adjust in other areas, there was some discussion about pulling Orenco out of Brown/Century into Poynter/Liberty and moving Butternut Creek from SouthMeadows/Hilhi to Brown/Century. There was even a single voice briefly asking if Willow Creek should come out of Tobias again (
gasp).
Rural vs City and Neighborhood SchoolsCarlos briefly spoke up with pointed comments about the difference between a rural lifestyle and city, when parents choose to live in a rural area, they expect to have to travel significant distances for most things, even for school, but sending city kids to a rural school is a major change, parents may not have the necessary options for transportation to a rural school.
He stated that a specific goal was to keep elementary schools as neighborhood schools. Mid and High school families should expect to go further, you can’t always make a school a neighborhood school.
He mentioned that Farmington View parents had made comments about hiring a dedicated math teacher with their own money, and that they don’t want a lot of kids from town brought into the school to the point where it dilutes the efforts they have put in, he offered that maybe they should look at option of some magnets to bring in kids that would benefit the most without overwhelming the current parents efforts.
The principal of David Hill noted that people walk to David Hill because they can, not because they don’t have any other options. That needs to be considered also.
IHBoundary ThoughtsAs I have said at least once before, this is a process, not an event. When a major change is required in a single elementary boundary it quickly ricochets around the district and impacts 8 more schools. The committee seemed much more focused in this session and there was less pushing and pulling of Robin as they considered the impact of a smaller set of changes. I was encouraged by the tighter focus and what seemed to be real progress. It also occurred to me that it is critical to stay engaged, nothing is off the table at this point.
Mantra: Process, Not, Event.
Next Community Meeting – 7:00 to 8:30pm, Thurs, November 29, Thomas Middle School Auditorium
Next Work Session – Monday, December 3, 4:30p to 6:30p
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 follow the flow of the meeting but I try to only focus on the main points and not get tied up trying to track individual school enrollment counts.
