Northpinellas: Parents: Don't shift 'choice' students

A grass roots parents group concerned about where the Pinellas school district's new student assignment plan is heading has decided to take its message to the streets.

Beginning this weekend, the parents will go door to door in the Palm Harbor area asking for signatures on a petition that urges School Board members to reconsider a preliminary recommendation from superintendent Clayton Wilcox that would curtail grandfathering for students currently enrolled in Pinellas schools.

The new plan, which will replace the 4-year-old "choice" system that allowed parents to select from a number of schools in an attendance area, will reassign children to a school "close" to home. That means thousands of children currently attending a "choice" school could be moved.

Wilcox has said that students entering fourth and fifth grades when the new plan goes into effect in August 2008 possibly could remain at their old schools. But Machon Kennedy, one of the petition's authors, thinks all children should have the option of remaining at their current school.

"What motivated me to go ahead and try to organize something is that I have one daughter who will be in fourth grade and one in first grade when this takes effect," Kennedy said. "Under the new plan, the fourth-grader might be able to stay, but the first-grader would not."

More than 400 parents have signed the petition, which can be viewed at pinellasparentschoice.pbwiki.com.

"We have teachers, grandparents, people who don't even have kids," Kennedy said. "All kinds of people are signing on to this because they think it's bad for kids and bad for the image of Pinellas County schools to have this instability."

Kennedy was among about two dozen parents who attended a School Board workshop Monday when details of the new plan were discussed. She left disappointed.

"I was glad to hear Mrs. Linda Lerner bring grandfathering up," Kennedy said. "But it didn't seem any of the other board members wanted to discuss it."

District officials say that if children are allowed to stay in their "choice" schools, they could be occupying seats that otherwise would go to neighborhood students, thus postponing implementation of the new neighborhood system.

They also say it would defeat the district's efforts to reduce busing costs if children are attending schools that are not the closest to home. But many parents who are advocating grandfathering say they would gladly drive their children to school if the kids can stay where they are.

Besides, Kennedy says, in an era of declining student enrollment, the district should be thinking about more than busing costs.

"I know a lot of kids who will be going to school at their kitchen table if things don't change," she said.

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by Dawn	09/10/07 02:14 AM
I feel that if your child is already enrolled in that current school,and has a sibling that will be enrolling next year as a kindergartner, grandfather them in.....All of this should of been thought of before choice was started.........

by Dawn	07/30/07 10:08 PM
My daughter, through Choice, was denied a spot in our neighborhood middle school. She received our third choice. She was devastated. She has since made new friends and finally got confortable and now they want to uproute her again.

by Rob	07/29/07 12:01 PM
Splitting our children into separate elementary schools is not an option. We will lose one of our necessary incomes to keep up two different schedules. Grandfather all grades or guarantee both our children can move together and stop this nonsense.

by Heather	07/18/07 12:18 PM
I agree with Kevin and "Just Thinking". Those who want to stay at their current school and are willing to drive beyond their neighborhood school should be given a spot only if there is space AFTER all the neighborhood kids have first dibs.

by TL	07/18/07 10:56 AM
If your neighborhood school was a Title I school with drug, behavior and educational issues would you still favor neighborhood schools? If you want your kid close to home then they can go, parents just want the others to be allowed to stay too.

by Kevin	07/16/07 10:22 AM
As a parent whose child can't go to her neighborhood school, I favor neighborhood schools. CHOICE was a dismal failure, get over it.

by Nikki	07/15/07 02:39 PM
I'd gladly CONTINUE to drive my children (like I do now) if they'd just grandfather in BOTH of my children. My 4th grader will be grandfathered, my 2nd grader won't. Not fair!! Let us keep out spot, but make us do the transport! It's a win-win!

by Marcia	07/14/07 06:13 PM
Why did you allow this NO CHOICE plan in the first place. I marvel at how parents have allowed their children to be used as political tools. Where was your backbone years back when the demogogues were making their plans?

by Cindy	07/14/07 05:32 PM
How does this effect High schoolers. They can go to any school in the county? If I live in Clearwater and want to go to Lakewood or Boca Ciega, I have to take a bus. What if I lived in Tarpon Springs?

by Bri	07/14/07 05:05 PM
Let them drive their kids. If they have that ability and dedication they are probably an asset to that local school anyway.

by DM	07/14/07 04:16 PM
Skip the choice to those who can afford it approach. Get back to neighborhood schooling and invest your time and effort into them. Kids don't learn and develop civic pride riding out of town. Take what is here and make it better. Unify and contribute

by justthinking	07/14/07 03:29 PM
Neighborhood schools save on gas and improve safety - b/c kids won't be on long rides on our busy highways - Neighbor kids placed in neighborhood schools first, then if space. parents can drive the ones who want to attend a school not in their area!

by Doe	07/14/07 03:03 PM
Great points, want grandfathering, you drive the kids. It makes zero sense to grandfather all of the children, how can you implement a plan with only kindergarteners? Area kids who were bused should get first dibs on seats, not grandfathered kids.

by C	07/14/07 02:53 PM
THE BLACK COMMUNITY CANT EVEN GET INTO THE MAGNET OR FUNDEMENTAL SCHOOLS IN THEIR OWN COMM OUR CHILDREN GET SENT MILES AWAY FROM HOME WHILE SCHOOLS ARE ALL AROUND JUST SO WHITE KIDS GET BROUGHT IN UNTIL EDUCATION IS EQUAL WE WIL ALWAYS HAVE THIS PRB

by Tami	07/14/07 02:03 PM
Before choice, there wasn't busing for magnet or fundamental schools, and the spots were full then. The biggest waste of gas is the empty buses having to go cross county. Less children means less funding, so the busing that serves so few should end.

by Michelle	07/14/07 08:11 AM
As long as you drive your "Grandfathered" student to school, then I think they should stay but the goal needs to be less bussing and more neighborhood schools.

Schools

Parents: Don't shift 'choice' students

A petition will ask the School Board to keep grandfathering.