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School attendance lines getting a new look
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Published: December 5, 2008
Before about 75 parents at a public meeting Tuesday, Mooresville Graded School District officials presented their draft of revised student attendance lines meant to accommodate the new Mooresville Intermediate School and the district's new elementary school on Rocky River Road in the 2009-10 school year.
"I believe I'm biased, but I believe very strongly that regardless of what school students attend, they will receive an excellent education," Supt. Mark Edwards told the group at Mooresville High.
Three displays of the district's new attendance lines were available for parents, MGSD officials and others in the audience to view prior to and following the presentation by Edwards and John Chesser from the Urban Institute out of UNC-Charlotte, with whom the district worked in conjunction with during the redistricting process.
Since early in the school year, the MGSD and Chesser have been reevaluating and amending the district's current attendance lines to distribute elementary students among three schools – the new school slated for completion in July 2009 in addition to Park View and South elementaries – and flowing them back into two schools at the intermediate level.
Additionally, the district had to consider the relocation of third grade back to the MGSD elementary schools from their current position at MIS and East Mooresville Intermediate.
Inviting input from the community on the redistricting plans, Edwards said he will also recommend to the Board of Education a "school choice component," which would allow families the option of choosing which elementary or intermediate school their child attends, provided the parent can supply transportation.
"If you want to attend outside of your (individual school) district for any reason," Edwards said, parents would have that option available to them through an application process. "We think there's a lot of value in that. Ultimately, you are saying we are attending the school we want to attend."
The details of the school choice option, however, must still be ironed out, MGSD officials noted. Guidelines for this option will likely become available in early 2009.
Per the question of one parent following the initial presentation, Edwards explained that within the next 10 years, more redistricting may be necessary to accommodate for the construction of additional facilities in the MGSD.
"We've done a 10-year projection based on our capacity and growth rate," said Edwards, referring to a "Facility Capacity Analysis vs. Enrollment Projections" planning document submitted to the school board in February by MGSD Director of Operations Stephen Mauney.
Added the superintendent, "I would anticipate about seven years out we would need a new intermediate school."
At the middle and high school levels, Edwards said the district should be "in good shape" for the next decade, but an intermediate school, and possibly another elementary as well, might be needed between seven and 10 years from now.
Noting that the district is currently under capacity at all schools, he added "we will be in good shape in terms of capacity for the next few years."
Using several databases through the Urban Institute, Chesser explained to attendees that every single student in the MGSD was looked at by their physical address during the redistricting process.
"We were able to look at very detailed information about redistricting," he said, noting that the location of communities were also highly considered in redrawing Mooresville's attendance lines.
"We take what we do very seriously because it's not a numbers game, but individual people," he said of the Urban Institute's direct work with school districts in the western part of North Carolina.
In reevaluating the MGSD's current attendance maps, Chesser said areas of growth – both current and potential – had to be considered as well as the third grade realignment.
At the elementary school level, the capacity of each school, noted Mauney, is approximately 800 students. Chesser said Tuesday it was ideal to "have nearly as equal numbers as possible" at each school, with between 550 and 600 projected for each.
Dividing the MGSD among the three elementaries:
*South Elementary encompasses the western part of the MGSD and includes more of the urbanized regions of the district. Students from the communities Muirfield, Reed Creek, Talbert Woods and Alison Park would attend South as well as those kids from households along Rinehardt Road.
*Park View Elementary includes the north and northeast segments of the district, including Pecan Hills, Piedmont Pointe, Winborne and Cherry Grove.
*The new elementary school on Rocky River Road covers the southeast quadrant of the MGSD. Those students who reside at Linwood Farms, Harris Village, Red Oaks, Franklin Grove and Curtis Pond developments would attend the new school.
Physically, the district boundaries for Park View and the new elementary are larger due to encompassing more rural, less developed parts of the region.
At the intermediate level, the new attendance lines run along the south side of property lines along NC-150 and Center Avenue – for example, Center Avenue addresses would attend EMIS, but students residing off adjoining streets to the south of Center Avenue would attend MIS.
*MIS includes the south portion of the district as well as the entire southeast quadrant. The communities of Curtis Pond, Red Oaks, Muirfield and Reed Creek are within the MIS district.
*EMIS encompasses the northeast and northernmost region of the MGSD, including Harris Village, Linwood Farms, Piedmont Pointe and Talbert Woods.
Because the capacity of the new MIS facility is approximately 200 students greater than EMIS – MIS has twelve classrooms more than EMIS – the attendance lines were drawn taking this difference into consideration, Chesser noted.
Maps of the redistricting plans, including specific street designations, are available for viewing at both elementary and intermediate schools as well as the MGSD Central Office on North Main Street.
Dreisa Sherrill, spokesperson for the MGSD, said the plans should be available on the district's Web site, www.mgsd.k12.nc.us, early next week.
Also on the Web site or at the schools is a "redistricting comment card," which district officials encourage parents and others with attendance-line concerns to fill out and return to any school or Central Office by Dec. 12.
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