By Robert Remler
New zoning plan tries to solve overcrowding
Projected overcrowding at two of Valley Stream's four junior and senior high school buildings may soon mean that parents will have much less choice of where their grade-school grads will be going.
Increasing enrollment at North and South high schools may force a change in district policy that now permits parents to select a high school other than the one they are zoned for based on where they live.
Revising the "attendance zone policy" was one of several initiatives proposed by new High School District Superintendent Ronald Valenti during a Nov. 12 meeting of the Board of Education.
According to Dr. Valenti, enrollment trends in the past two years show that student populations at North and South high schools increased while either declining or "remaining flat" at Central H. S. and Memorial Junior High School. A representative of the Board of Cooperative Educational Services will present an enrollment-trend study at the Central High School board meeting Dec. 5. The meeting will be open to the public.
School board president Frank Nuara said that overcrowding at North and South is a result, in part at least, from students "opting out of their assigned schools."
The school attendance area policy originally adopted in 1967 and revised four times since gives parents the right to request permission from the Superintendent of Schools for their child to attend a school other than the one in which they are zoned based on where they live. The policy states that, "It is the intent of the Board that students should be permitted to enroll in special programs and may be permitted to transfer to another school if the program is not available in the school within his/her home zone."
Mr. Nuara said that a vote on the school attendance zone policy could come as early as January. If the Board decides to rescind the policy, some students, depending on where they live, would be assigned to Memorial J.H.S. instead of South High School, said Anthony Iadevaio, high school board member and president of District 24 elementary school district board.
Mr. Iadevaio said he wanted to defer making a judgment on the school attendance policy until reviewing data from Valley Stream's two other elementary school districts. Mr. Iadevaio said that only his elementary district closed a school because of declining enrollment rates: the Donahue School in 1980.
William Stris, high school board member and trustee in District 13, also wanted to wait on stating whether he was in favor of rescinding the attendance policy until after the Dec. 5 meeting. One reason why students choose to attend a particular school is for the chance to join their friends, said Mr. Stris. He compared the process to when students choose colleges. On the other hand, Mr. Stris hoped that the requests were being made for "educational reasons."
If the Board does not rescind or change the attendance zone policy, the possibility of overcrowding would continue at North High School, according to Mr. Stris. The Board does hope to eventually reduce the number of academic classes at North High School that have 30 or more students.
Resident Gayle Ristano opposed the board's right to rescind the school attendance zone policy. Ms. Ristano said that when she purchased her home in Valley Stream, that choice was made because of the area's school district. Ms. Ristano said that it "would be a crime" to take a child out of a certain school and assign them into another school midway into their high- school career. It would not be fair for the people who live on the south side of Valley Stream to send their children to the north side of Valley Stream."
Ms. Ristano said that, "As a
taxpayer, this is where I choose to live and this is where I choose for my child to attend school." Boards do, however, have the right to direct students to certain elementary districts depending where the family lives, she said. "However, I absolutely feel that the Board has no right to decide on their own to change where the students go to high school, because that's something that taxpayers should have the right to say. We pay the school taxes...For them to just make a blanket move is not fair."
Pat Issacson, a Valley Stream parent also opposed to rescinding the school attendance policy, said that the seventh-grade adjustment for children graduating elementary school "was difficult enough...without the added burden of being separated from friends."
Peter Classi, parent of a Valley Stream high school student, suggested that the community cast ballots on whether to rescind the attendance policy. "The discussions should be open to the community, followed by a vote from the general public," said Mr. Classi.
