High school board: No exceptions to waiver policy

A plea from a parent to the Central High School District Board of Education to grant an exception for a late waiver for his son entering seventh grade was turned down at the board’s monthly meeting on June 10.

Anthony Taylor approached the microphone and said that his son, Anthony, was emotionally upset because he was zoned for Memorial High School while most of his friends since kindergarten are attending North High School.

“I am familiar with rules and regulations,” he said to the board. “I strongly stand behind them. We have to keep order. In this situation, folks, I was totally unaware of the waiver form sent out.”

Taylor said he wrote a letter to appeal the decision for his son, but was denied. He said that his family never received the waiver form.

“At the beginning, we didn’t have a waiver policy in place and students went to whatever school they were zoned for,” Elise Antonelli, president of the board, said at the meeting. “Then we developed a waiver policy with very strict constraints, and you have to apply by a certain date and if you don’t, that’s it.”

Antonelli said the waiver policy does not allow exceptions because if one exception were made, then the board would have to make exceptions for everybody.

Superintendent Dr. Bill Heidenreich said that the waivers are sent out in December and are due in no later than Feb. 15.

“An incoming seventh grader has a choice to select which school they’d like to attend,” he said, adding that waivers would be accepted “should there be space available and it’s submitted in a timely fashion.”

According to Heidenreich, the number of waiver requests varies each year but the average is about 100. He did say that in his 10 years in the district, no student who has submitted a waiver on time has been denied.

Late waivers that are accepted or exceptions that made could have an impact on the staffing that the district has planned for each school, which is a reason the deadline is Feb. 15, Heidenreich said. Staffing and hiring processes are based on enrollment projections for the schools, he added.

According to Board of Education Policy 5110 found on the district website, each waiver is considered on an individual basis and all decisions are determined by each school’s “functional capacity.” Before accepting waivers, the superintendent must determine each school’s projected enrollment without considering the waivers.

At the first meeting in March each year, the superintendent presents a report to the board on building capacity and waiver requests. The report includes the number of timely waivers, the change in enrollment in each building that would occur should all requests be approved, enrollment projections for each school factoring in waiver requests and, lastly, if any of the buildings would exceed capacity if all waivers were approved.

If a school were to exceed capacity, waivers for students whose siblings already attend that school would be approved first. Remaining waivers would then be entered into a lottery.

Parents are able to appeal notice of denial to the board within 10 days of receiving it, but are limited to the question of whether the lottery selection procedure was followed.