Enrollment disparities cause concern

New Era File Photo Dylan Phipps, a seventh-grader, works on an assignment in Alivia Littleton's math class recently at North Drive Middle School.

By Joe Parrino, New Era Staff Writer

Lopsided enrollment figures between middle schools have the Christian County Board of Education searching for solutions.

A Tuesday planning session tackled the impact of School of Choice on enrollment in addition to down-the-road issues, such as preschool expansion and the replacement of the superintendent in 2009.

Director of Pupil Personnel Sarah Kranz reported that attendance at North Drive Middle School was far below attendance at Hopkinsville Middle School and Christian County Middle School.

Monday’s attendance figures showed NDMS with 505 students, Hopkinsville Middle School with 659 and CCMS with 862. Attendance figures are representative of the differences in actual enrollment numbers.

Kranz attributed the inequity to School of Choice, a 16-year-old program that allows parents to request their child attend a different school from the one they are zoned to attend.

Over the past five years, 296 students zoned for NDMS successfully applied to a different middle school. Only 72 students invoked School of Choice to come to NDMS.

CCMS absorbed 220 of students leaving NDMS’s district. HMS took 61.

Board member Shelia Cottrell called the trend “disturbing.” Cottrell represents the NDMS district and sent her son Nicholas Cottrell to the school.

Cottrell was particularly disturbed by parents’ comments on their School of Choice applications. The report listed such reasons as “the school is a family preference”, “my child would feel more comfortable” and “the baby-sitter lives in the HMS district.”

The School of Choice criteria ought to be stricter, Cottrell said.

The existing School of Choice policy allows students to jump schools for any reason so long as the principal of the destination school signed off on the application.

Leaving NDMS because of a difficult commute or a particular program was more legitimate than many of the stated reasons, Cottrell said.

Superintendent Dr. Bob Lovingood said the data might justify closing School of Choice for the middle schools. In early 2006, the board discontinued the program for elementary schools after it was determined School of Choice skewed minority percentages.

“When you have a balanced school that mirrors our community, that’s what we’re seeking,” Lovingood said.

Board member Karen Dougherty suggested magnet programs as another solution to the inequity. Giving NDMS a focus in the arts or science might attract parents and students to the school.

“I would rather invite people than force them,” Dougherty said.

Board member Mary DeBow proposed turning NDMS into a sixth-grade center. That would not only strengthen NDMS’s numbers but relieve overcrowding at HMS at CCMS, DeBow said.

Another benefit could be more balanced test scores. The 2006-07 No Child Left Behind report put all three middle schools in a Tier 4 status, a designation for schools that fail federal standards five years consecutively.

NDMS’s performance was the lowest among local middle schools, meeting nine of 15 goals for reading and math. CCMS met 13 of 15 targets and HMS 11 of 15.

Lovingood voiced concerns about a sixth-grade center. The arrangement created more transition for students at a critical point in their education and the center’s test scores depended entirely on the proficiency of one age group.

Board members did not rally behind any one solution, but said the middle school disparity could be addressed in future meetings.

The board also sought direction for its preschool programs. Expansion of preschool services has been a hot topic across the state. In Christian County, interest is particularly strong because of the possibility of converting the now empty Morningside Elementary School into a preschool center.

Currently, the district’s eight preschool programs accommodate about 350 children. Admission is guaranteed for 3- and 4-year-olds with an identified disability as well as all 4-year-olds from families at or below 150 percent of poverty level income.

Were the district to open the doors to all 4-year-olds, the annual cost would be roughly $1 million, said Chief Financial Officer Terry Minuth. Transportation and teacher costs would be the biggest expenses.

Charging tuition of $4 per day would offset the cost about $160,000, Minuth said.

Besides a preschool center, board members also considered sending its preschool teachers into private daycare centers. Some preschool advocates call this approach more community-friendly because it doesn’t create more competition between public and private facilities.

The meeting finished with discussion about replacing Lovingood after he steps down at the end of the 2008-09 school year.

The board agreed to set up a screening committee by January. Plans were also laid for a survey of the district’s employees about the criteria that should be used in hiring the next superintendent.

Board members want a successor found before the end of Lovingood’s term to allow for a smooth transition.

JOE PARRINO can be reached at 887-3239 or jparrino@kentuckynewera.com.