School Board Approves Neighborhood Zoning Plan

Rockford, IL - Rockford School District 205 is changing the way middle and high school students are assigned to schools. After a decade of choice, the school board voted 4-3 at Mondays meeting to implement neighborhood boundary zones starting in the fall. At the meeting board members approved some last-minute changes to the maps. Students in Cherry Valley will be zoned to Flynn instead of RESA. That decision was made after a significant number of parents appealed to board members that their children would be traveling farther away from home instead of closer. School board member Mike Williams voted against that change saying parents opposed to making Wilson Middle School the freshman campus for Auburn High School were largely ignored. "All of the concerns that have been raised by parents who are affected by the Auburn reconfiguration have been virtually blown off," says Williams. The zone plan will be phased in. Incoming 6th graders and freshmen for the 2007-2008 school year are required to attend their zone school based on where they live. It is also based on socio-economic status. District administrators want to have roughly the same number of low-income students at each school. Students attending schools outside their zones will be allowed to finish their middle or high school years at their current school. Wilson Middle School will be closed at the end of the current school year and will be reopened in the fall as the freshman campus for Auburn High School. It will increase the number of high school seats available on the west side. The Bilingual Program will be moved from Lincoln Middle School to Eisenhower, and from East High School to Guilford by the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. Sibling preference is available, but limited. 7th and 8th grade students with a 6th grade brother or sister attending the zone school in the fall may request a transfer to that school if a seat is available. Sophomore, junior, and senior students with a freshman brother or sister attending the zone school may also request a transfer to that school if a seat is available. School board member Jay Nellis, who voted against the plan, first tried to delay approval of the plan for another year. Nellis wanted to wait until elementary schools are included in the plan. That was a move he also tried at the January 23rd meeting. It failed again. "I believe we have a pretty good solution," says Dr. Dennis Thompson, Superintendent of District 205. "While I understand the concerns, I think it outweighs the current system we have and is best implemented as we move forward now." Dr. Thompson says the zone plan will save the district money because itll have to bus fewer students. With the full implementation of the plan, it is estimated the school buses will be reduced from 280 to 210. The zone plan will also give predictability to parents who are considering moving to the area. Real estate agents will be able to tell them exactly where their children will attend school. They say the choice policy drives businesses and potential homeowners away. The board members who voted in favor of the zoning plan are Alice Saudargas, Nancy Kalchbrenner, Christina Ostergard, and David Kelley. The board members who voted against the plan are Mike Williams, Jay Nellis, and Robert Evans. Dr. Thompson says starting in the summer hell start making a plan to change elementary schools from choice to zones.