Parents gather to learn about school boundaries

Anxious parents waiting to hear about the Seattle Public Schools’ student assignment plan gathered Thursday night at the Ballard High library. The plan will determine which school students will attend based on their home address.

Rumors have been circulating about where the lines will be drawn between Ballard and Ingraham High, so Public Schools’ Tracy Libros started by putting them to rest. “The first thing I want to tell you is that there aren’t any lines yet,” she said, which was followed by relieved laughter. After a presentation of the preliminary student assignment plan (.pdf file pg. 33), the more than 50 parents broke into small discussion groups. The group that we listened in on was a group of moms that were looking forward to the predictability of the plan. “I like the fact that you’ll know where your kid is going to go,” one mom said. Another mom voiced concerns that Ballard kids will be left out of going to their neighborhood school.

School Board Director Michael DeBell joined one group that was made up of a mom from Magnolia, one from Queen Anne and several from Ballard. “A student will not pass one school to get to another. That just won’t happen under this plan,” DeBell told the small group. He did say that Queen Anne and Magnolia students might end up going to three different high schools. “The focus will be on nearby schools,” he said. The big question for him is, “What should be the tie-breaker?” If there are 10 extra spots at one high school and 20 students want in, how do you determine who will go to that school? The key, he said, is to keep it simple. The school board will hold more public meetings and solicit feedback before finalizing the attendance boundaries this fall.