Closeness of home to school to be top criterion for assignment.
By: Gwen Runkle
After considerable debate and the review of several alternatives, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education narrowly approved the original elementary redistricting plan developed by the board’s Elementary Attendance Area Committee by a 5-4 vote Tuesday night.
Board members Dee Dee Dodson, Diane Hasling, Stan Katz, Hemant Marathe and Vice President Linda Geevers voted in favor of the plan while Michelle Epstein, Steve Smith, Henry Wieck and President Cheryl Larrier-Jemmott voted against it.
The approved plan uses proximity closeness of school to home as the top criterion for determining neighborhood assignments.
As a result, all West Windsor kindergarten-through-third-grade students will attend West Windsor schools and all Plainsboro K-3 students will attend Plainsboro schools. The majority of fourth- and fifth-grade students will attend the upper elementary school in their township, but there will be some overlap due to capacity limitations at the Village School in West Windsor.
There are no changes in the neighborhood assignments for students in grades six through 12.
Since the plan’s introduction in January, much of the public debate has centered on the 4-5 portion of the plan, with opinion relatively evenly divided among residents of both townships.
The majority of the opposition said that by keeping the 4-5 students close to home, the school community will be divided along township lines, the townships’ ethnic and socioeconomic imbalance will be reflected in the school population and students will face an unnecessary number of transitions.
Those in support said keeping students closer to home and spending less time on buses is more beneficial.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the school board was just as divided as it weighed how best to address the 4-5 problem.
First, Mr. Smith presented a review of six alternative redistricting plans given to the EAAC over the past two weeks. He, Ms. Epstein, Ms. Larrier-Jemmott and Mr. Wieck supported taking more time to flesh out a 4-12 feeder system alternative championed by Superintendent John Fitzsimons.
"To choose not to explore this would not be right," said Ms. Epstein. "Why have forums or public comment in the first place if we’re not going to take that into consideration? It sends a poor message."
According to Dr. Fitzsimons’ proposal, K-3 students would be kept close to home, but beginning in fourth grade students would be placed in balanced cohorts, based on 6-12 groupings, to travel along one of two paths.
Students would either go to the Village School for grades 4-5, Thomas R. Grover Middle School for 6-8 and High School South for 9-12, or to the Upper Elementary School for 4-5, Community Middle School for 6-8 and High School North for 9-12.
This type of system was first thought to be impossible due to school capacity imbalances between the two tracks, but Dr. Fitzsimons stressed that if more classrooms were created, with some shifting of room uses at the Village School, it could work.
"A 4-12 feeder system is very viable," he said.
But the entire board was not convinced.
Mr. Marathe and Ms. Hasling both expressed reservations in accepting Dr. Fitzsimons’ capacity numbers and questioned whether using portable classrooms or increasing class size would need to take place to make a 4-12 feeder system work.
Ms. Dodson and Ms. Geevers also pointed out that the board’s time frame for making a decision was rapidly coming to an end with registration for kindergarten beginning March 20.
"We could spend months debating many more plans, but I doubt we’d be able to come to a consensus and not everybody in the public is going to be happy with every plan," Ms. Geevers said. "It is time to move on. There is real anxiety out there."
Mr. Katz also pointed out the district’s long-standing history of working toward a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 system in its education specifications.
"What’s best for the kids?" he asked. "The best thing for the kids is to keep them part of the K-5 concept. We made a commitment and should follow through."
A complete listing of the neighborhood assignments in the approved elementary redistricting plan can be found on the district’s Web site at www.ww-p.org.