WCS Supt. Seeks Input On Redistricting
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Volunteers are being sought to sit on the committee, and the process is expected to be completed by Jan. 25.
Hintz told the school board that 10 listening sessions will be conducted at school sites. The school corporation will conduct one to two public work sessions, and presentations will be given to community groups and organizations regarding the redistricting.
For the redistricting committee, Hintz suggested it have 25 to 30 members. Members will include school corporation staff, building-level parent representatives, community members and two school board members.
"We will be seeking some technical assistance from a company in Indianapolis called Educational Services Company," Hintz said.
Other technical assistance will include use of the Versa Trans Transportation and Routing software, a demographic study and assistance from the city of Warsaw and Kosciusko County.
During the process, Hintz said, they will avoid the appearance of hidden agendas, confusion for any reason, unclear borders, the perception that WCS is unsympathetic to the needs of students and inequity of any kind.
The first tasks of the committee, Hintz said, will be to develop an initial draft of school boundaries for the 2010-11 school year. The committee will agree to the process for presenting and gaining feedback to the initial draft and consider feedback to strengthen the initial draft.
When the redistricting is completed, Hintz said, the outcomes will include the assignment of students to Claypool Elementary, and balance enrollment in the eight elementary schools and two middle schools. The school corporation will be prepared for future growth, safety will be a consideration and at least 70 percent of the students will remain in their current building assignment.
Hintz said the free and/or reduced lunch population percentages will be balanced across the buildings, and more than one redistricting option will be presented for the board's consideration.
Hintz presented a dozen factors to consider for the redistricting.
"This is not a K through six action plan. This is a K through eight plan," Hintz said.
Other factors to consider include reopening of Claypool, reducing enrollment at Harrison, Eisenhower and Washington, safety of students and grandfathering of sixth-grade students and siblings for the 2010-11 school year.
After reviewing the number of students at each school for the current year, Hintz said the public will be regularly updated on the process. Those updates will include press releases, school board meeting updates, occasional articles in the Warsaw news media, presentations at individual schools and community groups and updates on the WCS Web site.
The redistricting process began with the announcement Monday of the process. Hintz said there will be community engagement opportunities during October and November, with the process concluding Jan. 25 with recommended approval of the plan by the school board. Letters to parents of students affected will be sent the week of Feb. 1.
Hintz said if anyone wants to be considered to serve on the redistricting committee, they can contact him by e-mail at [email protected]
"We do have a lot of work to do, and we want the process to be open," Hintz said.[[In-content Ad]]
Volunteers are being sought to sit on the committee, and the process is expected to be completed by Jan. 25.
Hintz told the school board that 10 listening sessions will be conducted at school sites. The school corporation will conduct one to two public work sessions, and presentations will be given to community groups and organizations regarding the redistricting.
For the redistricting committee, Hintz suggested it have 25 to 30 members. Members will include school corporation staff, building-level parent representatives, community members and two school board members.
"We will be seeking some technical assistance from a company in Indianapolis called Educational Services Company," Hintz said.
Other technical assistance will include use of the Versa Trans Transportation and Routing software, a demographic study and assistance from the city of Warsaw and Kosciusko County.
During the process, Hintz said, they will avoid the appearance of hidden agendas, confusion for any reason, unclear borders, the perception that WCS is unsympathetic to the needs of students and inequity of any kind.
The first tasks of the committee, Hintz said, will be to develop an initial draft of school boundaries for the 2010-11 school year. The committee will agree to the process for presenting and gaining feedback to the initial draft and consider feedback to strengthen the initial draft.
When the redistricting is completed, Hintz said, the outcomes will include the assignment of students to Claypool Elementary, and balance enrollment in the eight elementary schools and two middle schools. The school corporation will be prepared for future growth, safety will be a consideration and at least 70 percent of the students will remain in their current building assignment.
Hintz said the free and/or reduced lunch population percentages will be balanced across the buildings, and more than one redistricting option will be presented for the board's consideration.
Hintz presented a dozen factors to consider for the redistricting.
"This is not a K through six action plan. This is a K through eight plan," Hintz said.
Other factors to consider include reopening of Claypool, reducing enrollment at Harrison, Eisenhower and Washington, safety of students and grandfathering of sixth-grade students and siblings for the 2010-11 school year.
After reviewing the number of students at each school for the current year, Hintz said the public will be regularly updated on the process. Those updates will include press releases, school board meeting updates, occasional articles in the Warsaw news media, presentations at individual schools and community groups and updates on the WCS Web site.
The redistricting process began with the announcement Monday of the process. Hintz said there will be community engagement opportunities during October and November, with the process concluding Jan. 25 with recommended approval of the plan by the school board. Letters to parents of students affected will be sent the week of Feb. 1.
Hintz said if anyone wants to be considered to serve on the redistricting committee, they can contact him by e-mail at [email protected]
"We do have a lot of work to do, and we want the process to be open," Hintz said.[[In-content Ad]]
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