School choice got a little bit narrower in Elk Grove Unified this week.
During this year's open enrollment period, so many students requested transfers from two middle schools – Edward Harris Jr. and Harriet Eddy – that the board began to worry about the sustainability of the schools' academic programs.
If approved, the transfers would have made Harriet Eddy the district's smallest middle school at 691 students. Edward Harris still would have had a fairly robust 1,180 students, but it had received 76 transfer requests.
On Tuesday, trustees voted unanimously to cap the number of students who can transfer from their neighborhood school to another through open enrollment at 5 percent.
Last school year, 240 children normally bound for Eddy chose open enrollment. Most went to Elizabeth Pinkerton Middle, a new school in the neighborhood. For the coming school year, an additional 240 children that automatically would have gone to Eddy applied to go to another school.
The cap was hotly debated Tuesday night. Supporters of the cap praised the academic rigor at Harriet Eddy and its diversity. Those against the cap said the school is unsafe and poorly administered.
But providing an equitable education to all students at all middle schools ultimately trumped parental choice.
"I will not stand by and let a couple of schools deteriorate as a board member," said trustee Chet Madison.
"It's a problem when the number of students leaving a school impacts the breadth of the academic program on offer," said trustee Pollyanna Cooper-Levangie.
The district will hold a lottery for students who wish to attend another school besides Eddy or Harris at 7 p.m. Monday at Laguna Creek High School, 9050 Vicino Drive, Elk Grove. Selected students will be offered the opportunity to attend their school of choice. The remainder will be put on a waiting list and attend their neighborhood school.
This year, Elk Grove Unified offered open enrollment at six middle schools: Harriet Eddy, Samuel Jackman, Joseph Kerr, Elizabeth Pinkerton, James Rutter and T.R. Smedberg; and at five high schools: Cosumnes Oaks, Elk Grove, Florin, Laguna Creek and Valley. Applications for the 2009-10 school year were due by Feb. 13 and the district received more than 800 requests.
Only Harris and Eddy received open enrollment transfer requests from more than 5 percent of their potential students.
Call The Bee's Melissa Nix, (916) 321-1090.
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