The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Board OK's district as school of choice
District may limit number of non- residential students
By Christine Laughren, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
Lincoln Consolidated School district will become a school of choice for the 2008-2009 school year.
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Members of Lincoln's School Board unanimously passed school of choice provision 105c of the State School Act at their regular meeting Monday night.
The provision allows enrollment of students who reside in school districts located in Washtenaw County as well as those districts located in the six counties immediately surrounding Washtenaw County.
Board member Jeanette Upston said she previously has not been in favor of school of choice, but she said she now feels confident in supporting it.
Upston said with the slump in the housing market she is not worried about overpopulation in the district. She also said she is happy the provision would allow administrators to weed through any discipline problems.
"I think it has been thoroughly researched and I feel confident supporting it, at least for one year to see how it goes," Upston said.
Jane Ellen Innes, vice president of the Board of Education said she also liked the one-year option to gauge if having the school of choice provision would be beneficial to the district.
"I think we are at a point where we have to be creative in our problem solving," Innes said. "There's no reason not to try except that we haven't done it yet."
According to state law, Lincoln can limit the number of those non-resident pupils it accepts in a grade, school, or program.
The district cannot refuse, however, an applicant based on age or intellectual capacity.
The district also must follow the general federal law prohibiting discrimination of an applicant's religion, race, color, national origin, sex, height, weight, marital status, or athletic ability.
Lincoln may refuse to enroll a non-resident applicant if the applicant is, or has been suspended from another school within two years.
The district also may deny an applicant if he or she has been expelled from another school or convicted of a felony.
School Board President Kimberly Samuelson said the district needs the extra revenue more students would bring from the school of choice provision.
"It's no secret we are in dire straights," Samuelson said.
Marianne Kendrick, who has two daughters in the district, said she is happy the school board approved the school of choice option.
Kendrick said she and her daughters are moving to the Ypsilanti School District but she wanted to keep her Children in Lincoln schools.
"They have been in Lincoln for five years and they want to stay and I'd rather they stay," Kendrick said.
Ypsilanti Township resident Diane Russle said she does not support school of choice because it is not giving any incentive for people to move into the school district and increase the township's tax base.
Lynn Cleary, acting superintendent for the district said the school hopes to get the ball rolling on school of choice by the middle of June. She said the school will conduct a head by head count to ensure no grades are overloaded with children.
Contact Staff Writer Christine Laughren at 697-8255 or at claughren@heritage.com
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