State School Board takes closer look at the new voucher rules

As you can tell from the Tribune story below, the meeting with the committee of the State School Board went very well. Most board members there took turns giving their reasons why parents must have the opportunity to transfer. One board member spoke of his experience with New York schools, where every student can choose their school. If schools weren’t good enough to retain their students, they had to either fix the problems or close the school. Another board member noted that 5 students from his district might be alive today, had they been given the opportunity to go to choose their school rather than having to cross the dangerous rail road tracks.

I’m assuming the Woods Cross numbers, reported in the article, came directly from the district because while they are similar to the actual numbers for SY06 they are not what was reported yesterday. Thanks to all the parents that attended. Your voices and personal stories were priceless.

-Randy

Legislature repealed old law; board must tackle a rewrite

By Nicole Stricker The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune

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Jody Haycock thought she'd have no trouble transferring her daughter from chock-full Woods Cross High School to Bountiful High School. But the Davis School District denied her transfer request and those of roughly 80 other families. The district allowed only 20 students to transfer into Bountiful, which has 100 vacant seats. Bountiful High "wanted to let her in but said their hands were tied," Haycock said. "It was so frustrating, it just did not make sense to me." Utah code says students should be allowed to choose any public school "to the extent reasonably feasible," but families such as the Haycocks have been stymied by state and local board of education rules. So they took their concerns to the Legislature, which repealed the state rule. On Wednesday, the Utah Board of Education began discussing how to rewrite it. The repeal came about when Randy Smith, spokesman of the group DavisParents.org, approached a legislator with concerns about the state school board's rule. It said schools could "close" themselves to transfers if enrollment topped 14 students in early grades and 18 students in grades four and higher. Under that definition, most schools along the Wasatch Front would be closed to transfers. However, most districts set less stringent criteria for granting "variances" to transferring students. For example, Davis School District policy says schools may accept transfers totalling 1.5 percent of student population. At Bountiful High, that's about 20 kids. "This year the school board decided to up that to 2 percent," said Chris Williams, the district spokesman. "Our view is, we took a very lenient approach to it all and tried to make opportunities available as much as possible." Williams and others have said the district needs to limit transfers so programs aren't harmed by a student exodus. Yet legislators were sympathetic to Smith's cause and even state Schools Superintendent Patti Harrington agreed the current rule could use an overhaul. So lawmakers repealed it, forcing the rewrite now under way. Members of the state school board's finance committee heard testimony from several frustrated parents Wednesday and asked the state Office of Education to draft a new rule for the board's April meeting. At that meeting, Davis officials will be invited to tell their side of the story before the board votes on a new rule. In the meantime, after a year of letters and emotional pleas, Haycock finally found a sympathetic ear at the Davis Board of Education. "He said, 'I will put this before the board one more time for you and see what happens,' " she said. "And they did approve it, finally." nstricker@sltrib.com