Northpinellas: Here's what happens next with choice plan

Here's what happens next with choice plan

By KELLY RYAN

LARGO -- Even after Tuesday's vote on the choice plan, the School Board will have many questions to answer, policies to write and issues to resolve.

In his choice plan recommendation, Superintendent Howard Hinesley said he purposely excluded some important decisions the board will have to make before parental choice starts in fall 2003. He said he worried that too many details would puzzle the public and burden board members.

There's also a practical reason why some decisions are being put off. Until the district has an idea how parents will choose, Hinesley said, it's impossible to put together a transportation system.

This spring, the district plans to gather data so officials have an idea how parents might choose schools. Parents will be polled about which schools they would pick if the system were starting in fall 2001.

Hinesley has not set a date for the remaining issues to be resolved -- just some time between Tuesday's vote and the first choice application process, likely in fall 2002.

What will be decided Tuesday? The number of attendance areas and how they are drawn; a formula for determining how many seats are available in a school and how many portables should be allowed; preferences (grandfathering, family, proximity, professional courtesy and diversity); the order of preferences; and school improvement procedures.

What won't be decided Tuesday? The list is long, but here are some lingering issues:

How busing will work and the exact cost. District officials guess most families will choose schools close to home. But they aren't sure. They assume they will be able to provide direct routes, from home to school, for most students. They also think some students will have to ride two buses, switching at transfer stations. They don't know how many, and they don't know exactly where the transfer stations will be.

Board members also are contemplating offering bus service for fundamental school students. Until the board members know how parents will choose and whether fundamental students will get rides to school, they won't know precisely how much busing will cost. The district has estimates, but they are based on assumptions.

The length of the school day. To save money on busing costs, the transportation department is recommending the school day should be 61/2 hours for all levels. That is 30 minutes longer than the elementary day is now, and 10 minutes longer for middle. That issue would have to be negotiated with the teachers' union and approved by the board.

Activity buses. To encourage students to choose schools far from home, students will have to have a way home if they stay late for extracurricular activities. Should the district provide late buses or should activities be scheduled during the school day?

Guidelines for attractor programs. Schools are supposed to develop specialty programs, with input from the community, to attract students. Will the School Board have to approve each school's idea? Can each school raise its own money to fund the initiatives, or will the district provide some financial help? Will there be limits on marketing efforts, so some schools aren't at a disadvantage? A committee is working on the answers.

Family Education and Information Centers. Parents will go to these centers to research their school options and get their questions answered. Will they be in permanent locations, or vans that travel around the county? How will the district reach parents who don't bother to research schools and make choices for their children?

How the application and computer program will work. How many choices will each student be able to list on the application? Will an application be required every year? Where will parents go to fill out an application? Who will make sure parents don't lie on the applications to get their kids into certain desirable schools? In what order will the computer process the applications?

Student assignment appeals process. If a parent doesn't get his top choices, or he suspects his application wasn't processed fairly, he will be able to appeal. The district does not know who will serve on the appeals committee or what procedures it will follow.

Athletic eligibility. District officials want to control athletic recruiting and try to prevent students from transferring annually to play on more successful teams. They don't know how they will do that.

Special attendance permits. Students will be allowed to apply for special attendance permits to schools outside their attendance area. (Students will not be allowed to seek SAPs for schools inside their area; they simply will have to enter the choice process.) The district will have to decide when an SAP should be granted.

Diversity transfer procedures. Students will be allowed to transfer to another school, in or outside his area, when his presence at the new school enhances diversity. Procedures will be written to describe how this will work.