JACKSON — As the district plans to open the Elms Elementary School in September, a committee is working on a plan to redistribute the elementary enrollment among six elementary schools.
The Board of Education will be holding a community forum on redistricting on April 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center at Jackson Memorial High School to receive community input on a proposed redistricting plan.
In an effort to give the public an opportunity to review the proposal as it takes shape and to be able to offer informed and productive input at the community forum on April 28, maps showing a draft of a proposed redistricting scenario are on display in the following locations:
• all district schools.
• Administration Building, 101 Don Connor Blvd.
• ShopRite on County Line Road.
• Jackson Library.
"It’s important to note that this draft of our proposed redistricting plan remains a work in progress," said Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella. "We encourage parents to attend the community forum on redistricting to let us know their thoughts on this first draft."
A redistricting committee made up of parents, teachers, principals, board members and administrators has been working since the fall on a plan that best meets the needs of the entire Jackson school community. The panel met most recently on April 1 to go over a proposed redistricting plan.
The proposed draft was created using the criteria established by the research of the redistricting committee. Among the committee’s recommendations were to:
• send students to a school close to home;
• try to keep neighborhoods together;
• create reasonable class sizes that are equitable among all schools;
• create a plan that makes sense from a transportation standpoint.
"We hope our parents can appreciate that each member of the redistricting committee understands this is a very personal and sensitive issue," Gialanella said. "We are doing our best to make the best decisions possible."