A Sensible Guide to Longmeadow’s School Redistricting
This guide was developed by Longmeadow parents that have collectively spent hundreds of hours actively participating in Longmeadow’s redistricting process and conducting research on similar redistricting initiatives across the country. Whether or not you are directly impacted by any of the redistricting proposals, redistricting is a community concern with friendships that extend across all neighborhoods.
Brief History
School redistricting is a contentious process taking place across the country. Here in Massachusetts no less than a dozen towns including Newton, Wellesley, Brookline, Framingham, Andover, Arlington and Sharon have either gone through a school redistricting process or are actively engaged in school redistricting.
What’s involved in school redistricting?
Regardless of the town size or the number schools involved, the problem of rebalancing schools is the same. School administrators are all but required to allocate time and resources to analyze a wide range of relevant data including census and enrollment data in relation to the proximity of available schools. The communication process with parents and community members typically begins a year in advance of any action. The concerns voiced by parents and community members often surround neighborhood cohesion, safe walking routes, property values and the social impact of moving children. With the proper foresight and planning the rebalancing process can begin to take effect in the following school year.
The Issues Impacting Longmeadow
While it’s a natural reaction to be for or against a proposal based on whether you are directly affected, it’s helpful to understand the high-level drivers that directly impact the effectiveness of any one plan.
Grandfathering – Nearly all school redistricting plans employ grandfathering. In its purest form, grandfathering means that ALL existing students, including siblings not yet enrolled in school, remain in their existing schools. Grandfathering can be applied to any plan. Under proposals A and C, incoming 5th graders will be automatically grandfathered, but currently only proposal E offers full grandfathering.
Narrowly Targeting Neighborhoods – One of the most contentious redistricting tactics is to narrowly target specific neighborhoods with a small pool of children to ‘fix the problem’. This applies to proposals A and C. In the absence of full grandfathering, this tactic has the unintended consequence of creating a pocket of less desirable real estate for homeowners. New buyers are faced with the probability that their children could be plucked from their current school any time a neighboring school is out of balance – a natural and reoccurring phenomenon. This occurred in Zone A in 2003.
Buffer Zones – A common rebalancing approach is to use a ‘Buffer Zone’, occasionally referred to as a ‘Swing Area’. These are broader areas of a town that border two to three neighboring schools. Buffer zones have been successfully used in towns such as Arlington, Newton, Wellesley and Brookline. Under proposal E, the creation of a large buffer zone in Longmeadow (roughly a quarter of the town) would grandfather all children and siblings to their currently enrolled school, and deliver rebalances through children of new families entering the school system for the first time (typically Kindergarten and First Graders). New entrants would be assigned to a school that is within 2 miles of their residence. These annual rebalancing assignments are determined by the class sizes for the school year, and in some years offer families the option to go to their preferred school.
Long-Term Solution – Long-term solutions do exist and they’re sought after to avoid the very disruptive and emotionally charged debate that accompanies school redistricting. A long-term solution allows the School Administration to keep its schools balanced regardless of where the growth/decline trends take them. Long-term solutions also offer certainty to families and homeowners. Currently Proposal E incorporates long-term rebalancing capabilities.
Longmeadow Proposals
Maps and details on each proposal can be found on the Longmeadow Public Schools’ Redistricting page:
http://www.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/news/2015redistrictinginformationpage
http://www.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/2015-elem-redistricting-info-page
Getting Involved
In Longmeadow, there are two proposals (A and C) that pit one group against another and one proposal (E) that shares the rebalancing burden with a broader area. The best thing a community can do is participate in the process and weigh in on the issues that drive the viability of each proposal.
Write to the redistricting committee:
Come to the Public Forums:
Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 7 pm (Longmeadow High School Auditorium)
A second public forum will be announced in the upcoming week.