WEST PHASE CORE COMMITTEE MEETING

Transcription

1 Seminole County Public Schools ELEMENTARY REZONING WEST PHASE CORE COMMITTEE MEETING #3 Lake Brantley High School 991 Sand Lake Road Altamonte Springs, FL Community Room January 10, 2013, 6 PM S U M M A R Y Attendees: Not Present: Welcome Role of the Committee Traci Kuveke, PTA Rep, Bear Lake ES Alex Agosto, Administrator, Bear Lake ES Carmen Hamilton, SAC Bear Lake ES Steve Grieger, SAC Rep Forest City ES Jamie Sexton, PTA Rep, Forest City ES Tony Arena, Administrator, Forest City ES Vincent Lee, Parent/Community, Forest City ES Carolyn Baksa, SAC Rep, Sabal Point ES Allison Tate, PTA Rep, Sabal Point ES Paul Senko, Administrator, Sabal Point ES Cindy Shepherd, Parent/Community, Sabal Point ES Jill Wharton, SAC Rep, Spring Lake ES Selena Upson, Parent/Community, Spring Lake ES Shana Rafalski, Administrator Spring Lake ES Jo Cangialosi, Parent/ Community, Spring Lake ES Lisa Romine, SAC Rep, Wekiva ES Todd Kozak, PTA Rep, Wekiva ES Marjorie Adamczyk, Administrator, Wekiva ES Damarus Melendez, Parent/Community, Wekiva ES Donna Harrison, Administrator, Teague MS David LaMontagne, SAC Rep, Teague MS Trisha Tamm, PTA Rep, Teague MS Ms. Gwen Warga, Transportation, District Staff Mr. Kenneth Lewis, Exec. Director Transportation Dr. Robin Dehlinger, Executive Director Secondary ED, Facilitator Mr. Jason Wysong, RTTT, DA, RtI Coordinator, Facilitator Mr. Tim Harper, Director, Staffing Mr. George Kosmac, Deputy Superintendent Operations Dr. Anna-Marie Cote, Deputy Superintendent Instructional Excellence & Equity Dr. Marian Cummings, Executive Director of Elementary Education Dr. Beth Sharpe, Executive Director of Elementary Education Ms. Pam Mazzotta, Choices Coordinator Trisha Tamm, PTA Teague Middle School Tandre' Moody, PTA Spring Lake Anacelis Diaz, Parent/Community, Bear Lakes ES Dr. Dehlinger welcomed the committee and the public. Rationale for rezoning is to balance enrollment among schools and to accommodate future enrollment growth. Dr. Dehlinger explained the role of the committee as they go through the work process

2 Review of Rezoning Process Dr. Dehlinger reviewed the Rezoning process. Dr. Dehlinger Board Policy 5.30 School Student Attendance Zones, Revision of Attendance Zones, and Inter-zone Transfers. School Board Policy 2.60 Excellence & Equity was also reviewed The Seminole County School Board believes that a high quality education is a fundamental right of every child, that all children can learn, and that every student should have the opportunity to succeed. The Board is committed to maintaining a high quality school system that provides excellence and equity for all students. In particular, the Board believes, and research supports, that quality education is most effective in a diverse setting. In Seminole County, this diversity includes socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity, English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and disability. One of the key educational benefits associated with diversity is improved achievement for all students. Jason Wysong reviewed the parameters. School Board Policy 5.30, Section D, Step 5 The committee will review target enrollments recommended by district staff, develop alternative plans and measure each plan against Policy 5.30 and the following parameters: 1. The plan creates attendance zones that reflect the diversity of the District to the extent practicable consistent with Constitutional requirements. 2. The plan keeps subdivisions and small neighborhood units in the same attendance zone to the extent practicable. 3. The plan assigns students to the closest school to the extent practicable. 4. The plan creates compact attendance zones with few or no island areas. 5. The plan includes target enrollments that allow for growth and anticipated changing demographics. 6. The plan complies with feeder patterns (no more than two schools) to the extent practicable. 7. The plan does not place a transportation burden on any identifiable diversity subgroup (socioeconomic, race/ethnicity, ESOL, or disability). The steps to a final decision are as follows: The Core Committee submits proposed plans to the Superintendent. The Superintendent may develop alternative plans for consideration by the Board. The Board will conduct a work session for each phase to review core committee proposed plans and receive public input. At the following Board meeting, the Superintendent shall submit a recommendation to the Board. The Board will vote on the recommendation. After an advertising period, the Board will conduct a public hearing. The Board will vote on adoption of the plan. The Timeline for the West Phase is as follows: December 6 Core Committee Meeting 1 December 13 Core Committee Meeting 2 January 10 Core Committee Meeting 3 January 17 Core Committee Meeting 4 February 5* March 12* March 17* April 16* April 16* Board Work Session Committee s Proposed Plans Regular Board Meeting Superintendent s Recommended Plan Advertisement of Selected Rezoning Plan Public Hearing Special Board Meeting Adoption of Plan *Tentative dates Title I Allocation Process was explained and reviewed: Title I funds are allocated by the Federal government: US Census Bureau data Based on the number of children ages 5-17 living in poverty NOT based on Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) Title I Allocations to Schools: Based on annual February Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) data Must allocate Title I funds to all schools with FRPL rates above 75% Discretion to determine the amount allocated to each school and the cut-off point at or below 75%

3 Process Core Committee Work Time Core Committee Plan Review It was explained that if the public had any questions or comments they must obtain an index card and write their questions and comments. The cards will be given to members of the Core Committee of the school it pertains to so the concerns are taken into consideration. Dr. Dehlinger and Mr. Wysong modeled the review process using 4 different plans. Each school was then asked to review all of the plans in the Rezoner program and decide if their members wanted to keep the plan for further consideration. Schools should indicate Yes or No for each plan and write the results on the large sheets posted on the wall. Dr. Dehlinger stressed that the main goal of rezoning is to balance enrollment among schools and accommodate growth in student population. Capacity utilization is therefore a very important consideration. However, in the school board policy, there are seven parameters including free/reduced lunch, which are also important for the Core Committee to consider in their selection process. All Core Committee Members completed the review of the plans. At 8:52 PM, Dr. Dehlinger stated that the Rezoner is closed. 101 Plans were submitted. All plans were reviewed by the core committee: 60 Plans 0 Yes 21 Plans 1 Yes 13 Plans 2 yes 5 Plans 3 Yes 2 Plans 4 Yes The Core Committee decided to move forward with plans receiving 3 or 4 Yes decisions for future review and consideration. Seven plans were accepted for future review and consideration. The plans are the following: #457 BigDogPublicInputWest #474 Cap-Balance-1 #483 Plan A #493 Even Capacity with the lowest #494 Only 237 students move. Even C #505 Plan A CLM #833 Capacity Focused Public Input Dr. Dehlinger read and answered all the questions provided by the public: 1. The Orlando Sentinel today reported that the Free/Reduced lunch were no longer the focus. Does this apply to the West Zone? I am not hearing those comments tonight. Free/Reduced is a measure of diversity, which is one of the parameters identified in Policy 2. I am new in the process. Why does free and reduce lunch play such an important part in this process? Free/Reduced is a measure of diversity, which is one of the parameters identified in Policy 3. Why isn t free and reduced luch monitored? SCPS follows federal guidelines for monitoring participation in the Free/Reduced Lunch Program

4 Continued: 4. What does the Free and Reduced program have to do with balancing enrollment? I thought Mr. Wysong s initial statement was that Title I and Free and Reduced Lunch targeting was separate from the rezoning. What did I miss? Free/Reduced is a measure of diversity, which is one of the parameters identified in Policy 5.30 for evaluating rezoning proposals. The Title I discussion was intended to inform the public that the amount of Title I dollars received by the district is determined by the federal government using U.S. Census Bureau data, and therefore rezoning decisions do not impact Title I fund allocations. 5. According to George Kosmac, Free/Reduced lunch was not to be considered a major factor. This was announced at other Phase meetings. Why not here? Free/Reduced is a measure of diversity, which is one of the parameters identified in Policy 5.30 for evaluating rezoning proposals. 6. According to Deputy Superintendent Kosmac, Free & Reduced Lunch is not to be considered in rezoning, capacity is. Why was this not announced to your group? Free/Reduced is a measure of diversity, which is one of the parameters identified in Policy 7. Why is it that when the 2 speakers were explaining the process and criteria, they mentioned capacity (present and future) only once but reiterated diversity and Free/Reduced lunch more than 10 times? The second slide of the presentation clearly established that the purpose of rezoning is to balance enrollment and accommodate future growth. Free/Reduced Lunch as a measure of diversity is one of the parameters identified in Policy 8. If Free/Reduced Lunch ratio is not the major factor, as noted by the county officials at the board meeting Tuesday, why was it the first ratio talked about by Mr. Wysong when modeling how the core committee should evaluate individual plans? The second slide of the presentation clearly established that the purpose of rezoning is to balance enrollment and accommodate future growth. Free/Reduced Lunch as a measure of diversity is one of the parameters identified in Policy Other parameters, such as students attending the closest school to the extent practicable and creating few or no islands to the extent practicable, were also part of the model analysis presented by the facilitators. 9. When will the plans voted on tonight be available for view online? The 7 plans selected at tonight s meeting are now available for public review in the Rezoner. 10. Why is rezoning occurring after we approved the millage tax increase? The School Board voted to initiate elementary rezoning. 11. Isn t Free and Reduced Lunch a bad indicator, since 97% of applicants are not verified? SCPS follows federal guidelines for monitoring participation in the Free/Reduced Lunch Program. 12. Since Bear Lake is the only school currently in both target zones, why is Bear Lake being affected most? Bear Lake is involved in rezoning because there is some capacity available to provide relief to an overcapacity school. The extent to which Bear Lake, or any other school, will be effected, depends on the plans recommended by the Core Committee

5 Continued: 13. Why not change only the 3 schools outside of the target zones and thus disrupt less students and schools? (Sabal, Wekiva and Spring Lake) This, and any other plan submitted through Rezoner, is an option for the Core Committee s consideration. 14. Have there been any discussions or plans to rezone middle & high schools? Yes, there have been discussions. However, the School Board has not given direction to initiate any additional rezoning. 15. When do you anticipate the growth/capacity changes that are driving the elementary zone changes, to affect the high school changes? Because high schools have different attendance zones, growth/capacity changes will impact high schools in different ways. There is currently no School Board direction to rezone high schools. 16. Is the zoning within each phase only? Can one school in one phase be included with another close school in another phase to determine capacity numbers? Each of the three rezoning Core Committees is functioning independently. 17. In past rezoning decisions in Seminole County, it always appears that the superintendent has already made up his mind. Are the committee and superintendent really listening to the homeowners? There are no predetermined outcomes. The Core Committee is accepting input from the public and considering that input during meetings. In the whole process, over 300 plans have been submitted. The Superintendent has received many s, phone calls and other input from the public. 18. Rezoning does this mean that boundaries move all students (except for approved voluntary transfers) within the new boundaries now attend the school in that zone? Yes. 19. How is future growth considered during the core committee s evaluation of a plan? The school board works through the state-required school concurrency process. When the district is given notice of new residential developments, capacity must be reserved for potential new students. 20. When all this is completed, what is the anticipated quantifiable benefit? Does it justify rezoning? The school board entered the rezoning process to balance enrollment and accommodate future growth. 21. Is rezoning the only option? The board entered the rezoning process to address capacity issues, balance enrollment and accommodate future growth. 22. Is the core committee taking into consideration the potential growth and benefits of online education? Yes. 23. Does Seminole County have any data or research for online education that the core committee could use? Yes. Every Seminole County school has some online and/ or virtual school options. Providing these options does not necessarily allow more capacity at a school and may reduce space for regular classroom instruction. 24. If the only school in the cluster that is significantly over capacity is Spring Lake, why not just bus a percentage of those students to one school that s both current and projected attendance is low? Students zoned for a school cannot be sent to another school unless on a voluntary transfer to another school. By policy (5.30), to change zones requires rezoning. 25. Why can t the over populated schools transport into the under populated schools (ie: Spring Lake to Sabal Point)? Refer to #

6 Continued: 26. What are the anticipated growth issues for each of these schools? There is not much anticipated growth in this area. However, the expansion of computer-based testing, adding pre-k and class size requirements has impacted the capacity at schools. 27. What is the required distance from a school for bus transportation to be provided? Greater than 2 miles, per state statute. 28. If Free/Reduced Lunch Policy is not the objective, why is it so heavily presented in your presentations? Free and reduced lunch is a measure of diversity and is one of the parameters in policy What information was determined or used to project future growth patterns for students? Refer to # What is the target or minimum capacity that is acceptable? There is not an absolute answer. Capacity varies from school to school. The capacity ranges address the differences that exist among the schools. 31. Did you say the core committee was not supposed to increase Free/Reduced Lunch at schools? Any plan can be submitted. The guidance provided to the core committee is to move towards the range. Next Meeting The next core committee meeting for the West Phase is as follows: Thursday, January 17, 6:00 PM at Lake Brantley High School 991 Sand Lake Road Altamonte Springs, FL If you cannot attend, please contact Grace Gonzalez at Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm - 6 -