[ back ]
Pickerington board could vote on realignment Jan. 26
(by Anne Holmes, staff writer - January 24, 2009)
The Jan. 26 Pickerington School Board meeting could be the last chance for students and parents to speak up about school boundary issues for grades 7 through 12.
Assistant superintendent James Sotlar said that "every student in the district receives an excellent education, no matter which building assigned."
But some district parents feel that continuity and stability are also important and any changes could disrupt that.
With their educational path already modified in the 2006 boundary changes, parents in the Mingo Estates area are resisting the newest plan because they say it is important for their students to stay with the peer groups they have developed in the first six years of their education.
"It is a difficult age to develop new peer groups," Parent Julie Goodwin said. "It's like picking up and moving houses."
Goodwin planned to host a meeting of the Mingo Estates Civic Association with school superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, Sotlar and a couple of board members in the days before the scheduled public meeting.
"We know so many emotions are involved, we just want to do what is best for kids in the long run," Goodwin said. "The school board has been responsive, but they need to correct errors of the past."
Goodwin said parents want younger siblings to be able to take the same path as their older brothers and sisters and not divide families between schools.
If parents do not like the outcome of the anticipated vote Jan. 26, they have the option to select open enrollment for their students. If they choose open enrollment, they will not receive transportation from the district.
[ back ]
