Sylvania school board members hope parents have all their redistricting questions answered ahead of a board vote slated for Monday that will dictate school boundaries for the 2018-19 school year.

District officials selected six questions they said parents have most frequently asked since the board’s May 22 meeting and responded to them on the district’s website.

Board members will consider a plan that would keep grade configurations in schools as-is but adjust boundaries so that students stay together from kindergarten through high school. The goal is to make room for increasing enrollment in the west.

Under the hybrid plan, 9 percent of elementary students and 12 percent of junior high students would change schools, officials said.

Many parents have asked why certain neighborhoods were moved out of one school only to have another neighborhood moved in, and board members said it’s all about balancing enrollment from kindergarten through high school. Four elementary schools feed into Northview High School, while only three feed into Southview, so neighborhoods will have to shift beginning in kindergarten to make that system work.

“There was a fair amount of criticism that it seemed like we were just swapping one group of children for another, and that’s just not accurate,” board President Stephen Rothschild said. “It’s not just switching at the elementary school level that’s relevant. It’s where they go to junior high and high school that goes along with that.”

Other parent concerns centered on transportation changes and a proposed grandfathering clause.

Adam Fineske, an associate superintendent who will step in as interim superintendent when Scott Nelson departs Aug. 1, said the district will take the 2017-18 school year to work out efficient bus routes to ensure students don’t spend more time in transit than they do now. In some cases, that could mean two buses are assigned to one neighborhood to cut down on the number of stops, he said.

A redistricting task force — consisting of about 25 parents, teachers, administrators, and community members — also recommended that board members consider a grandfathering plan that would allow all students in kindergarten through eighth grade during the 2017-18 school year to stay at their current neighborhood schools, should they choose to do so.

Mr. Fineske said the grandfathering provision would slow the redistricting process but not inhibit it. He estimates it would take about six years to see the full effect of the redistricting.

“To say there’s no impact that will be made is false,” Fineske said. “We know there’s going to be an initial impact. Will the impact be as much as we want? No, because we’re letting people stay if they want to.”

He added not all families will take advantage of grandfathering because it requires families to provide transportation.

One common question from parents not addressed on the district’s website is the projected price of redistricting. Mr. Fineske said he doesn’t anticipate any costs will come with the change because no new schools will be built, nor will any current buildings undergo renovations.

The questions and answers about redistricting can be found online at sylvaniaschools.org. 

Monday’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. at Southview High School, 7225 W. Sylvania Ave.

Contact Sarah Elms at: selms@theblade.com or 419-724-6103 or on Twitter @BySarahElms.

First Published June 11, 2017, 4:00 a.m.