STAMFORD - As parents protest, the Board of Education is preparing to vote Tuesday on a plan that will redraw attendance zones for Stamford's 12 elementary schools.
"You have to be brave to do redistricting," said Polly Rauh, a former educator who heads the Education Committee of the Board of Representatives, and a critic of the plan.
The vote could end a protracted effort to bring the student bodies of schools into a socioeconomic balance close to that of the district. The effort began 18 months ago, resulting in a decision to move students from Rogers Magnet Elementary to a largely state-funded magnet school under construction in the Cove.
At the first of two public hearings held Sept. 9, parents from Northeast Elementary School's district, north and east of High Ridge Road, opposed a plan to send those children to Davenport Ridge Elementary School. They have collected about 400 signatures objecting to the move.
Lisa Walker, the parent of a fourth-grader at Northeast, contacted board members asking them to leave her neighborhood alone. "What I would hope is there are enough arguments made and enough dissent that they will minimally postpone it," she said.
The central office Friday released an analysis of the potential effect of removing her neighborhood from the plan, along with other possible changes.
The same day, several board members said they needed more information before deciding.
"Certainly, I have questions," board member Julia Wade said. "I don't know if all the board members are comfortable with the timetable." Wade said her decision would depend on data from central office and discussion Tuesday. Board member James Rubino said he favored the first of the four options and was ready to vote. "I don't want to substantially deviate from any plans," he said. Modifying a plan would mean extending the public comment period, he said. Board member Ed Mathews said he was uncomfortable proceeding because a decision should wait for the final enrollment numbers due Oct. 1. The redistricting proposals drawn up by Superintendent Joshua Starr's staff take into account the accuracy of enrollment projections, student retention and state projections for future enrollment. But the numbers are based on enrollment counts from Oct. 1, 2007. For example, K.T. Murphy School's bilingual program - which could be moved to Northeast - had about 105 students last year, according to Starr's office. But this year, school administrators estimate that 80 students are enrolled. Acknowledging that tabulations of the number of disadvantaged students in each school will change, Starr has held his options to a narrow 5 percent margin near the district average of 48 percent disadvantaged students. That should delay the need to redistrict again, Starr said. A board rule requires that each school have a socioeconomic balance within 10 percentage points of the district average for elementary schools. The standard is stricter than the state's 25 percent requirement. But the rule is based on the racial, not socioeconomic, makeup of a school. Gary Orfield, a professor of education at the University of California at Los Angeles, said board members would do well to make a swift final decision. Consensus on a redistricting plan will not happen, Orfield said. "Have an open discussion and give a rationale about why it's being done and answer the questions and make a decision and then stick to it," he said. "After a certain amount, it just gets worse. People from one neighborhood get mobilized, and people from another neighborhood get mobilized, and it just spirals." - Staff Writer Wynne Parry can be reached at 964-2263 or wynne.parry@scni.com.
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