Frustration was palpable tonight at Natomas Park Elementary School where parents packed the multipurpose room to hear what would happen if their school is selected for closure next month.
Natomas Park is one of three neighborhood schools placed on a "short list" for potential closure as a cost-saving measure for the Natomas Unified School District. Bannon Creek and Jefferson are also on the list and scheduled for similar meetings in the coming weeks.
District officials made it clear early on tonight's session was not meant to revisit the issue of school closure, the process the board-appointed committee went through to identify schools for potential closure, or to explore alternative cost-savings ideas. In general, suggestions for a transition plan posed by parents in the audience were made note of on a flip chart.
District officials shared their plan to relocate students displaced by a school closure saying they would be eligible for open enrollment at any school in the district. Should the number of applicants to a receiving school outnumber the available space, a lottery will be held.
- One parent asked if students of the closed school would be able to "bump" those at the receiving school. The answer was students already attending their "home school" would continue to do so.
- Another parent asked about kids on intra-district transfers - those who live in the boundaries of one school, but attend a different school - would be bumped. Once a student has an approval to attend a different school that is considered their home school and they would not be bumped in favor of students from a closed school.
- Students who attend Natomas schools on inter-district transfers - those who live outside the district boundaries, but attend school here - have to reapply each year. Only if there is room after open enrollment, these students may attend the Natomas school.
Parents were also told GATE and special education programs would remain "in tact" and they would know "very soon" after the March 10 board of trustee's decision which campus will close, where their children would attend school for the 2010-11 year.
School district officials plan to redraw school boundaries following the open enrollment period. Teachers at the closed school will also be transferred and reassigned.
Click here for more info.
