Bookman Road Elementary community meeting

Tonight's meeting at Bookman Road Elementary was well-done.

Attendance by parents was light. There were approximately eight parents there and about 15-20 District 2 staffers. Approximately 18 parents attended the first community meeting on this issue.

The District's Director of Planning, Will Simon, presented the reasoning for the re-districting that will result in about 240 students changing elementary schools. From an operations standpoint, it makes sense.

One school, Bookman, has been losing enrollment. The other, Catawba Trail, has been increasing.

The next step is the School Board's Special Called Meeting on December 3. This is when the Board will vote. Normally, votes are not taken at Special Called Meetings; this will be an exception.

And, normally, there is no Public Participation at Special Called Meetings. There is no reason why there cannot be. The Board could put Public Participation on the agenda. Will the Board Chair include it when the Agenda is set, which might be as early as tomorrow (Nov. 20)?

The location for the December 3rd meeting is geographically inconvenient. It's an attendance killer. My suspicious nature tells me there is a reason that the Board picked Jackson Creek Elementary for the voting meeting.

Watch the District's website for the agenda for the December 3 meeting. Hopefully, the District will post it before everyone leaves for the Thanksgiving holiday (Wed., Thurs., Fri.). The agenda must be posted before the end of the day on Monday, in order to meet the statutory FOIA rules.

Parents, if you still have concerns, call and email your School Board members. All of them. Names, email addresses and phone numbers are on the District's website.

The District received only four comments after the November 8 Report was prepared. That was many fewer than I would have guessed.