Published: March 07, 2006 04:08 pm      

School board approves plans for realignment

Edmond school board members Monday night approved realignment plans for the district’s two newest elementary schools and one of the existing elementary schools.

Plans were approved for Sunset Elementary, West Field Elementary, scheduled to open in August, and Centennial Elementary, scheduled to open in August 2007.

On Sunset Elementary, the board approved the only plan submitted.

On West Field, the board approved plan No. 1.

On Centennial, the board also approved plan No. 1.

Member Kemp Cole said whichever way the board voted, some patrons would be impacted. Cole said he appreciated the way in which patrons presented themselves during last month’s public forum.

Superintendent David Goin said numerous concerns were adopted in the plans. Goin read from a prepared statement that listed them:

n Current fourth-grade students who reside in the realigned boundaries at Angie Debo, Charles Haskell, Washington Irving and John Ross may be issued a transfer to stay at those schools for their fifth-grade year. Transportation will not be provided. These transfer requests will be due March 21. Paperwork is available at the current home school.

n Current fourth-grade students who reside in the realigned boundaries at Angie Debo, Charles Haskell, Washington Irving and John Ross who wish to attend West Field may do so. Transportation will be provided.

n Students who currently live in Sonoma Lake and attend Charles Haskell will be allowed to transfer back to Charles Haskell. Transpor-tation will not be provided. These transfer requests are due March 21.

n All students who currently live in Sonoma Lake and do not attend Charles Haskell and those who move into the addition will attend West Field. Transportation will be provided.

n All other students who wish to transfer back into their current schools will be considered on a case-by-case basis as stated in school board policy No. 4850 based on the projected maximum enrollment of each school as determined by the boundary realignment decisions. This number will be set after decisions are made considering possible placement of pre-K programs. Transportation will not be provided for these transfers. Transfer requests are due March 21. Transfer decisions could be made as late as the second week of the school year.

n Students living in the Copper Creek addition who attend West Field will be bused to school.

n Next year’s fourth-grade students from John Ross, Cross Timbers and Northern Hills who have been reassigned to Centennial for the 2007-08 school year will be permitted to stay at their current school for 2007-08 on a transfer basis. Transportation will not be provided for the 2007-08 school year.

n Current fifth-grade students whose middle school pattern has been affected by the boundary realignment will be allowed to attend the previously assigned middle school. Likewise, current sixth- and seventh-grade students will be allowed to remain at the middle school they are now attending. Transportation will be provided until the end of the eighth-grade year.

n Current eighth-grade students whose high school pattern has been affected by the boundary realignment will be allowed to attend the previously assigned high school until graduation. Likewise, current ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade students will be allowed to continue at the high school they are now attending until graduation. Transportation will be provided.

The district’s realignment plans are available online at www.edmondschools.net.

(Education reporter Mark Schlachtenhaufen may be reached via e-mail at ms@edmondsun.com.)