Bismarck Tribune… [Derived Headline]

By SARA KINCAID

Bismarck Tribune

Proposed changes to the open enrollment policy could change the way former Bismarck residents continue attending Bismarck public schools.

A majority of the students who use the policy, which allows out- of-district students to attend school in the district, were once Bismarck residents, but then their families moved out of the district, Superintendent Paul Johnson said.

The school board wants to change the policy to help control enrollment in some of the district’s overcrowded schools.

The board discussed some possible changes at its board meeting Monday. One of the changes would be to grandfather in siblings of current open-enrolled students, but not to grandfather in students who move out of the district. So, if a family moved to Apple Creek or Mandan, the student would have to meet the policy’s criteria to open enroll into the district, instead of being guaranteed a spot.

“If we have open enrollment and change the policy, then they move, they lose that status,” board member Dan Kuntz said.

Currently, the district lets students apply to enroll into the district, but not a specific school. The school is selected, based on space. The proposed changes to the policy make this more clear.

“My one concern is, because the law is fairly specific, you either have open enrollment or you don’t,” Johnson said. “If you have it, you abide by the provisions.”

Overall, board member Marcia Olson said, she thinks the proposed changes put the board back to where it was when they suggested making the changes.

Other possible changes related to the open enrollment policy would allow the assistant superintendents to close enrollment at schools when it reaches a given capacity, based on criteria such as average classroom sizes.

The board hopes this keeps the district from needing to hire a teacher halfway through the school year and split up a classroom.

It could mean that after schools starts and a family moves into the attendance area of a closed enrollment school, the children must attend a different district school for the remainder of the school year.

The draft policies will continue to be refined. At this point, the board has only given its input on the proposed changes.

The board also approved some new spending for positions in 2007- 08. They approved 1.5 kindergarten positions, three elementary positions, 4.6 secondary teaching positions and paying for two currently grant-funded assessment and evaluation specialists. This is at a cost of $549,500. The board is considering about $2.2 million in new spending for 2007-08.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)

(c) 2007 Bismarck Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.