The Park Hill Board of Education approved its redistricting plan by unanimous vote last week. The new boundaries will take effect with the 2019-2020 school year.
The details of the plan and detailed attendance maps are available on the district website at parkhill.k12.mo.us, with the board approving a variation of maps recommended earlier this month by the redistricting committee. About 10 residents spoke out at the Thursday, Dec. 13 meeting, with most pleading their individual cases for exemptions from the redistricting plan.
The committee chose the B1 scenario for elementary boundaries and the B1/B2 scenario for middle- and high-school boundaries. Under scenario B1, about a quarter of existing elementary school students will change schools, including those assigned to the new elementary school. At the middle school level, the numbers of students changing schools are also affected by the district’s elimination of the sixth grade center and the opening of a fourth middle school. About half of middle school students will change schools. Only about five percent of high school students will change schools.
Total enrollment at Park Hill is about 12,000 students.
In the weeks before the vote, several parent groups sprung up on Facebook, along with an online petition urging the district to take more time with the process. Parents have expressed concerns about socio-economic balance across the district, travel times, separation of communities and more. They were also critical of the district’s avenues for public comment, stating the district deliberately limited the window for such feedback.
By the Dec. 13 meeting, parents said they appreciated the district’s efforts, but that the process was flawed. One parent-child duo — Glenn and Olivia Tott — spoke out in support of the plan.
“The first day of school will look like every other first day of school,” said second-grader Olivia Tott. “The kids will adjust to this easier than the parents will.”
After the final recommendation of the committee, a list of possible changes was also submitted for the board to consider. While some of these changes were made, administrators said not all requests could be honored at this time.
“During the listening portion parents asked for blalance of resources to meet academic and behavioral needs at each school,” said superintendent Dr. Jeanette Cowherd. “We will be looking into that.”
The board also approved recommendations for grandfathering some students in at their current schools. High school students will be allowed to remain at their current school, as will students currently in fourth grade. The exceptions will not apply to siblings and families must provide their own transportation.
High school families will need to make a decision to remain at the school before Feb. 1, 2019 and elementary families will need to decide by March 1, 2019.
Board vice president Susan Newburger said she knows not everyone would be happy with the outcome of the redistricting process, but that district staff tried their best to accommodate everyone while staying within established criteria.
“Redistricting is never easy, but at the end of this process all of our kids will be attending Park Hill schools,” Newburger said.