Schools
Parents of the Open-Enrolled: Another Voice in the Basswood Boundary Battle
Osseo Area Schools have heard the argument of parents in Census Area 284. On Friday, an email was sent to parents of open-enrolled students who attend Basswood.
As Osseo Area Schools decide on a boundary adjustment proposal that will reduce overcrowding at Basswood Elementary, there is pushback from parents on all sides– most recently from the parents of the open-enrolled.
Under the proposal, Maple Grove residents in Census Area 284 would be assigned to Oak View Elementary instead of Basswood Elementary. About 109 students in Kindergarten through fourth grade would be reassigned to Oak View, and 40 students in fifth and sixth grade next year would be allowed to stay with continued transportation from the district.
Under current board policy, open-enrolled students would be allowed to stay at Basswood, even if their assigned school was Oak View to begin with (unless they were part of the few assigned to Census Area 284 when they entered the district).
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"Our open enrollment policy, based on a board policy, is based on a philosophy about treating open-enrolled students and resident students essentially the same," Said Barbara Olson, the director of school and community relations for Osseo Area Schools. "Open-enrolled students at this time under the current board policy, if they are not assigned to Census Area 284, will be allowed to stay."
This has caused some parents of students living in Census Area 284 to wonder why their students can't stay at Basswood when open-enrolled students, who may not live close to the school, can. This comment comes from a parent on Maple Grove Patch's Facebook page: "Why is the district making us switch schools and the open-enrolled kids get to stay? Instead, the school board could amend the open enroll procedure and have those students go to the school they are zoned for."
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Well, the school board has heard the argument and plans to talk about it at a work study session this week on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
On Friday, an email was sent to parents of open-enrolled students who attend Basswood (see the attached email).
"The core issue has to do with whether Basswood Elementary should retain its current open-enrolled students (who do not live within the school's attendance area) when the district has proposed to relieve overcrowding at the school by reassigning a portion of its attendance area to Oak View Elementary," wrote Superintendent Kate Maquire.
The email continues:"I anticipate that the work session will conclude with direction to administration on how to address overcrowding at Basswood. Pending board direction, it is possible that there could be changes in policy and procedure regarding the assignment of students who are open enrolled to our school district."
And now another voice has entered the argument: Parents of the open-enrolled at Basswood.
"We are unable to gather as a group like a neighborhood, so we are at a disadvantage," wrote a parent who didn't want to be identified in an email to Maple Grove Patch. "Many do not know who else is open enrolled. It is really unfair that they did this late on a Friday when there is no school on a Monday. We have no time to get a group even gathered if we wanted to."
She continued:
"There are many reasons as to why open enrolled kids are at different schools (divorce, assigned school didn’t fit them, moving, daycare, etc.). Why was the school accepting more kids this year if it was full? They should have stop taking kids if they knew they were nearing capacity. It didn’t just happen overnight, and they also should have had a long term plan for All-Day Kindergarten. All kids in the state have a right to open enroll, and they cannot just push us out to fit the needs at this particular school. If they do this, they will need to make a districtwide policy change, or I believe it will be discrimination. Our kids are feeling bullied and outcasted by this group of people."Is this a valid argument? Do you believe the district should make a districtwide open-enrollment policy change? Leave a comment below.
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