Moses Lake schools prepare to redistrict soon

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake School Board began discussing redistricting of schools with Park Orchard Elementary set to open soon.

District administrators begin the redistricting process in February, which makes each school responsible for a certain neighborhood area.

Discover Elementary is the only school without an assigned service area, and under the new plan would only accept students living in the Guffin Eccles neighborhood surrounding the school rather than accepting students from all over the district.

"As we start doing redistricting, it's important that we consider Discover having its own neighborhood assignment rather than being an overflow school as it has in the past," says Moses Lake School District Superintendent Michelle Price. 

Price says naming a service area for Discover is part of the five-year "phase-in" process which began three years ago, prior to the opening of Sage Point Elementary.

"What they are now looking at is just to accelerate the phase in and give Discover a neighborhood starting in the fall of 2011," Price says. "If the board supports a plan giving the school its own neighborhood, parents would be notified that students will be returned to their neighborhood schools."

According to school district policy, drawing service areas, or attendance zones, the administration will use neighborhoods "based upon factors including natural geographic barriers, major roads, identifiable residential subdivisions or apartment complexes and established homeowner's associations." 

Currently all students at Discover are from other service areas than those who live in the area, Price says.

"The problem has been when families move into the area, we don't necessarily have spots for them to move into because we've  tapped enrollment at Discover in the past," Price says.

The district's "choice policy" allows parents to take students to any school as long as they provide transportation and there is room at the school, says Price.

"As a district we currently have about 515 students who attend a school different than their home school, so it's a policy well used at the elementary level," Price says. "The whole goal will be to reduce enrollment, create as service area for Park Orchard and the board is saying maybe it's time for Discover to have a neighborhood." 

Students may be granted a transfer to another school if a financial, educational, safety or health condition affecting the student would be more reasonably improved, attendance at another school is more accessible to the parent's place of work or child care or a special hardship or detrimental condition affecting the student or their family, according to policy.

While creating a service area for Discover was discussed at the Jan. 13 board meeting and study session, no decision was made.

"The discussion gave some guidance to administration," Price says.

School district policy states redistricting requires consideration of geographic proximity, instructional capacity, projected enrollment, neighborhood groupings, traffic patterns, frequency of re-zoning, special programs as well as community input.

In addition, service areas may be revised as considered necessary by the district and the superintendent will develop procedures for establishing and revising attendance zones witch utilize staff expertise, available technology and parental input.

Parents and community members residing in areas being considered for rezoning are encouraged to attend the community rounds to discuss redistricting. 

The first round will outline the redistricting process and establish ground rules for group sessions. It is Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Moses Lake High School, 803 Sharon Ave. 

The second round is March 1, and the final round is March 29, both are at 6:30 at the Moses Lake High School.