Sweet Home
Redistricting Task Force urges changes during five-year span
by DAVID F. SHERMAN Managing Editor

The Sweet Home Board of Education is expected to vote by May 15 on two proposals for redistricting its four elementary schools.

A 19-member Task Force made its recommendations at the board's Feb. 13 meeting.

Recommendation 1 calls for realignment of English as a second language for pupils at Glendale to include pupils from Willow Ridge as well. It also proposes that ESL pupils from Maplemere join ESL pupils already enrolled at Heritage Heights.

Recommendation 2 proposes redistricting the northern end of the district, affecting Glendale, Willow Ridge and Heritage Heights, through reassigning streets.

The proposal includes a phase-in period of five years, allowing pupils to remain at their current school or enroll at the new one.

The board is expected to vote on the two proposals as a "package deal," according to Craig Allwes, assistant superintendent for human resources and planning.

"We are looking to stabilize the elementary schools and keep each at a similar enrollment. It's tough because we know after five years our numbers will probably change," he said.

Key issues faced by the Task Force included the lack of a neighborhood school at the densely-populated north end of the district, future population trends, and the most effective pupil population at the four schools.

Under the scenario adopted by the Task Force, pupils living on Admirals Walk, Windsor Court and Summerset Lane West would be assigned to Glendale. Those pupils are now assigned to Heritage Heights.

Pupils living on North French Road between Sundridge and Sweet Home, now assigned to Heritage Heights, would be assigned to Willow Ridge. Pupils from Hennepin, Irwin Place and Wayne Avenue, now assigned to Glendale, would also be relocated to Willow Ridge.

Heritage Heights would add pupils from Hitching Post and Glenhaven, from Vine Lane to Sweet Home Road, who are now assigned to Glendale.

The Task Force met five times during the past 11 months. It was assisted by students and professors from the Department of Geography and Engineering at the University at Buffalo.

"The Task Force has decided upon recommending a plan that maintains the neighborhood attendance zones surrounding the four elementary schools and that redistricts pieces of the northern end to more equitably balance school sizes," wrote Superintendent Geoffrey Hicks in a column published by The Bee on Jan. 10.

He said elementary enrollment in the district has been declining and is expected to continue in that direction in the near future. The northern end of the district has continued to be densely populated with school-age children, whereas many other neighborhoods have seen a drop in this category, he added.

Hicks also pointed out that the northern end of the district was the last to be residentially developed and the last to be assigned attendance zones. Today, it is possible for a family that lives on one block to be assigned to one elementary school while a family that lives on a neighboring block to be assigned to a different school.

The board has been asked by Hicks to vote on the recommendations by the May meeting.

e-mail: dsherman@beenews.com