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SCHOOLS Medford School District considers opening borders Shumate proposes allowing interdistrict transfers, open enrollment Comment Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT MailTribune.com Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Jan. 19, 2016 at 6:07 PM Updated Jan 19, 2016 at 6:22 PM Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Jan. 19, 2016 at 6:07 PM Updated Jan 19, 2016 at 6:22 PM » Social News The Medford School District is considering following the trend of neighboring districts by allowing open enrollment next year. At a recent work session, Medford schools Superintendent Brian Shumate urged the school board to allow a limited number of nonresident students to attend select schools in the district next year. “Right now, we are in a situation where we are a net exporter of kids to other districts who have opened up either interdistrict transfers or open enrollment,” Shumate told the board. In 2014, the district closed its borders to all incoming and outgoing students except for those whose health, welfare and safety were at risk and those who wished to transfer to Ruch Community School or North Medford’s Teen Parent Program. However, the district grandfathered in current, nonresident transfer students and any of their siblings born before Sept. 1, 2009, as well as the children of parents who already had initiated the transfer process. The decision was prompted by a new state law, House Bill 4007, which prohibited districts from admitting students on a case-by-case basis and was designed to prevent any form of discrimination. At the time, board members said they were reluctant to admit transfer students without knowing whether there would be enough space to accommodate resident students. In a memo to the school board in December, Shumate proposed that the district also accept students through the open enrollment process. Under state law, open enrollment is allowed only between March 1 and April 1 and does not require permission from the sending district, whereas interdistrict transfers may occur any time during the year but require both the sending and receiving district to approve the transfer. Ashland, Phoenix-Talent and Central Point school districts currently accept students through open enrollment, while Medford does not, except at Ruch Community School. According to a recent inventory, there is space available at seven elementary schools, as well as room for 75 to 100 students at each middle school, 170 students at South Medford High School and 150 students at North Medford High School. However, the space at the middle schools is contingent on the sixth-graders remaining in the elementary schools and not being moved to the middle schools. The Ashland School District currently has 41 Medford residents attending its schools through open enrollment and three through interdistrict transfers. The Phoenix-Talent School District has 23 Medford residents enrolled through open enrollment and 58 through interdistrict transfers. And the Central Point School District has 39 Medford residents enrolled through open enrollment and 12 through interdistrict transfers. “When every other district in the area is doing open enrollment and we’re not, it creates a vacuum,” said board member Larry Nicholson at the Jan. 11 work session. Several board members feared the message that open enrollment might send to residents. “If we are going out for a bond in the near future to build a new school, it creates messaging that doesn’t need to be there, like, ’You wouldn’t need a new school if you’re letting in all these people,’ ” said board member Karen Starchvick. Board Chairman Jeff Thomas added that he didn’t like the idea of letting nonresidents choose what school they’d like to attend if Medford residents aren’t allowed to choose. “There is no way in hell I can support that unless we let the kids from our district go between North and South,” Thomas said. “There’s no way you should be able to live out of our district and select a high school, when you live in the district and … pay the bond and are told that is the school you have to go to.” Shumate suggested that the board implement external boundaries, in which students from districts north of Medford attend NMHS and students south of Medford attend SMHS. Board member Tricia Prendergast floated the idea of doing open enrollment only for a small number of students at each high school until the district comes to a decision on where to put sixth-graders. Oregon law does permit districts to cap the number of seats available to nonresident students by grade or school. If the number of requests exceeds the number of seats available, then the district must conduct a lottery to determine who gets in. The board’s policy committee will present the first draft of its new transfer policy at the next board meeting, Jan. 25. The district must announce the number of students it will accept by March 1. “We’re looking at this as a way to maximize our resources so we are able to continue to invest in smaller class sizes,” Thomas said. Regardless of its decision on open enrollment, the board must revise its interdistrict transfer policy to reflect new legislation. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected]. Follow her atwww.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT MailTribune.com Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Jan. 19, 2016 at 6:07 PM Updated Jan 19, 2016 at 6:22 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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