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JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEKMore than 6,300 students may be eligible to transfer out of schools that don't meet federal guidelines. But schools they choose may be packed.
School crowding and school choice are about to collide in Hernando County.
More than 6,300 children might be eligible to transfer out of their existing school in August, if their campus failed to meet federal progress guidelines for a second year in a row.
But their choices are some of the district's most overcrowded schools, some of which did not make adequate yearly progress themselves. Complicating matters, the district has asked parents to decide whether they want a transfer, and to which school, by June 11 - at least three days before the state is expected to announce 2003-04 progress results.
"We could conceivably take kids from schools that need enrollment to schools that are full," School Board member Jim Malcolm observed. "That's absurd. But you've got to follow the rules, because if they've tied it to Title I schools, they're obviously going to threaten Title I funding."
The rules Malcolm spoke about are the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates that states set an achievement bar and then measure whether schools reach it each year. If one group fails, so too does the whole school.
Even though 18 of the county's 20 schools did not meet the standard, just seven face the consequences. That's because Congress imposed its rules only on those schools that receive significant federal funding, the Title I program for low-income campuses.
Hernando school officials, like most others in the state, are trying to follow the law as best as they understand it. The law states that priority in school choice be given to lowest-achieving children from low-income families, and that they be allowed to select from among schools not identified as needing improvement under No Child Left Behind.
The issue is most dire for Hernando's elementary schools, 60 percent of which are affected.
The district offered families at Pine Grove, Deltona and Spring Hill elementary schools the choice to transfer to Floyd or Westside. Westside made adequate yearly progress; Floyd did not, but it is not a Title I school.
Children at Eastside, Moton and Brooksville elementary schools can choose between Chocachatti, which attained the progress levels in 2002-03, and Suncoast, which did not but is not a Title I school.
Two choices are the "bare minimum" a district can offer to provide meaningful options, as required by the law, state schools Chancellor James Warford said.
Diane Dannemiller, Hernando supervisor of federal programs, said the district did not want to offer to send children to schools that performed at the same level as those offering transfers. But it also did not want to give choices that would have youngsters taking lengthy bus rides across the county, she said.
School capacity is not supposed to be a factor in implementing the law, Dannemiller said. In theory, that could mean that families could demand seats where none comfortably exists.
The district's open enrollment plan would not allow new students living outside the attendance zones to attend Floyd, Westside or Suncoast, which are filled beyond capacity. The School Board has limited the Chocachatti population to 800.
"We're going to have to make that decision locally," Dannemiller said.
School Board members said they hoped to reach a happy medium.
"It's kind of a ridiculous concept, if you think about it," board member Robert Wiggins said. "Especially if you have to provide transportation."
Board member Gail David predicted upset parents if children who had not gone through the original application lottery to attend Chocachatti were bumped to the top of the waiting list.
"It does present something of a dilemma," she said. "Everybody wondered what the federal government had in mind when they came up with this AYP thing. It's a nightmare for school districts with overcrowded schools."
Warford, the state chancellor, said the state understands districts' plight. It's clear, he said, that not every student can attend a single school: Choice has to be tempered with reality.
The bottom line, he said, is the Florida Department of Education will watch to ensure that district's provide a "fair and equitable process to give parents options."
Students can stay in their current school, Warford added, noting that in larger Palm Beach County just 1.5 percent of eligible families chose to switch schools under No Child Left Behind. Moreover, he said, districts can offer choice by providing new programs in low-performing schools.
"We are encouraging districts to utilize that option," Warford said. "We are also encouraging districts to not think about it as always transporting students to highly qualified teachers and programs, but also as transporting highly qualified teachers and programs to students."
Dannemiller said Hernando Title I educators are exploring such options.
Malcolm said he expected the board to take whatever steps are necessary to comply with the law, regardless of how difficult it might be.
"We have to obey the law," he said, "until such time as people come to their senses and realize the ramifications of what this No Child Left Behind is doing."
- Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at 352 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com