After months of debate, two community surveys, and one petition from concerned parents, Sylvania Schools’ redistricting task force reached a consensus on how the public school system should redraw its boundaries for the 2018-19 school year.
The task force, made up of about 25 parents, teachers, administrators, and community members, agreed on a hybrid plan that combines the two options they’ve been considering for weeks. The hybrid proposal keeps grade configurations and buildings as-is but adjusts boundaries so that students in kindergarten stay together through high school.
The district of about 7,500 students is seeing a population shift from east to west, and officials said redistricting would balance classroom sizes and school resources.
“Some neighborhoods have had to move to help us shift populations, but we tried to be sensitive,” said Adam Fineske, executive director of teaching and learning and task force co-chair.
The task force also will recommend allowing any student who will be a fifth or eighth grader in the 2018-19 school year to stay at the school they currently attend, if they choose. That way students wouldn’t have to change schools two years in a row, Mr. Fineske said.
The recommendation needs approval from the school board before the change is official. Task force members will present to the board at 5 p.m. Monday at Southview High School, and board members are expected to vote on the redistricting recommendation at their May 22 meeting.
Parents who protested one of the original options that would have turned Maplewood Elementary into a middle school building are happy with the hybrid solution, but not all Sylvania parents are pleased. Several in the Grove Bell neighborhood near Highland Elementary are upset their children will be moved to Maplewood Elementary and then attend Arbor Hills Junior High instead of McCord.
“It’s across town. If we wanted to go to Arbor Hills, we would have bought a home in Arbor Hills,” parent Angela Sapp said.
Mrs. Sapp is also concerned the redistricting will divide the wealthy areas from lower-income neighborhoods, which she said deprives students of a diverse environment.
“I hope they do think about the socio-economic impact on our children, and our families, and the Sylvania community as a whole,” Mrs. Sapp said. “I feel like what they’re doing now is a divisive move. If we as a Sylvania community want to keep that as a priority, right now it’s not well-balanced.”
Kimberly Conklin, who also lives in Grove Bell, said moving her children from Highland Elementary to Maplewood Elementary will disrupt the friendships they’ve already built. She said she wants to be sure the redistricting alleviates the overcrowding rather than simply shifts it.
“I understand if my child has to go through this, but I want to make sure it’s for the right reasons,” she said.
Jim Nusbaum is the school board’s representative on the redistricting task force. He expressed confidence in the district’s population projections.
“The southwest part of the district is really where the growth is going to happen over the next five to 10 years,” he said. “I absolutely think we accomplished our goals.”
The last time Sylvania redistricted was in 2004.
Contact Sarah Elms at: selms@theblade.com or 419-724-6103 or on Twitter @BySarahElms.
First Published May 6, 2017, 5:59 a.m.
