Ogden school boundaries approved
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Amy K. Stewart
Standard-Examiner staff
O
GDEN -- Ogden School Board voted to approve its revamped elementary school boundaries during its meeting Wednesday night.
The board voted on Nov. 29 to approve high school, middle school and elementary school boundaries. However, the board assigned district officials to gather fresh enrollment data, then go back and revamp the elementary boundaries.
The map the board voted on in November used April population numbers. The current map uses December data. The elementary schools will include kindergarten through sixth grades.
The board's vote on Wednesday was 5 to 1 with one abstention. Board member Christina Morales voted against the revised elementary school boundaries.
Morales initially had made a motion to approve the boundaries as they had been presented on Nov. 29. The motion was seconded by board member Rick Noorda.
However, that motion was voted down by board members Jennifer Zundell, Brad Smith, Don Belnap and Joyce Wilson.
Noorda and Morales voted for the motion.
Board member John Gullo abstained on both motions. "I don't like either one of (the proposals)," Gullo said, but didn't go into further detail.
Morales said she believes demographics have been too much of an issue with the freshly revised boundaries.
"Who is this proposal meant to appease?" she said. "Could it be a select few who live in a certain area of this city?"
Reed Spencer, Ogden district executive director of curriculum and assessment, said there are no hidden agendas with the revised elementary school boundaries.
"I've given this a lot of time," Spencer said. "I've been very honest with the board -- with everyone."
Gary Reed, Ogden district director of support services, said district employees have spent sleepless nights trying to figure out the boundaries.
"It's an extremely tough decision," he said. "Our first responsibility is to get kids in a school as close to their home as possible -- there are safety factors and community bonding."
Spencer said the new magnet school being built in the southeast segment of the city will likely have a high-income demographic, along with Wasatch Elementary, and whatever elementary school that ends up housing the approximately 100 accelerated-learning students.
That leaves 10 elementary schools that are bound to be inner-city schools of Ogden district, he said.
"We have 70 percent poverty in this district," Spencer said.
Gullo points out that parents can opt for school choice if they don't want to attend their neighborhood school. School choice forms are due Feb. 16.
When it comes to predicting exact student counts for this fall, the board and district may find it to be as easy as "nailing Jell-O to a wall," Spencer said.
And fall 2008 could be even trickier, as the district should have three magnet schools in place by then: the aerospace magnet school on Washington Boulevard slated to open fall 2007, along with a magnet school in the southeast segment of the city, and another in the northwest -- both planned to open fall 2008.
The main idea of magnet schools is to lure in students who are interested in a specific program such as art, science or music.
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