After months of work, data-crunching, community meetings and internal discussions, Hamilton Southeastern school administrators have released what they describe as their “preferred” redistricting plan. This is the K-8 school boundary map that will be submitted to the school board as the recommended plan, to be presented to the board Wednesday night by Superintendent Allen Bourff.
New redistricting maps will take effect for the 2019-2020 school year.
The newly-drawn boundaries will move 2,265 students, including 1,208 at the elementary level and 1,057 at Intermediate/Junior High buildings. The plan will reduce the number of portable classrooms and make way for the new Southeastern Elementary, set to open in August 2019, located at Cyntheanne Road and Southeastern Parkway.
There were some last-minute adjustments from the map presented at a school board work session held Nov. 20.
Some of those changes include:
- Moving areas of Sunblest Farms and Sunlake Apartments from Cumberland Road to New Britton, eliminating the need for school buses to cross State Road 37/Interstate 69.
- The Anderson Hall neighborhood near 136th Street and Promise Road moves back to Cumberland Road from Harrison Parkway.
- This plan will grandfather students in grades 3, 5 and 7 only, but no transportation will be provided to those choosing the grandfathered option.
There are a number of other changes in this “preferred” plan from other redistricting maps considered through the process.
To review the changes in more detail, you can access the posting on the HSE Schools website at this link.
It should be noted no redistricting plan is final until the school board votes to approve, and that is scheduled to happen Dec. 12.
Anyone wishing to speak at this Wednesday night’s school board meeting, slated to start at 7 p.m., may do so, but you must register in advance. Here are the rules on how to request three minutes to speak before the board:
At each Board meeting, the Board of School Trustees will accept comments from persons in attendance on the scheduled agenda, subject to these guidelines:
- A person who desires to speak to the Board, about a scheduled public agenda item, must register before the start of the meeting. A registration sheet will be available at least thirty (30) minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Registration will close five (5) minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. Required registration information will include the name of the person(s) providing the comments, the organization represented (if any), and the agenda item to be addressed.
- Statements may not exceed three (3) minutes.
- No person may speak more than once on the same topic.
- Comments will be directed to the Board, not to an individual Board member.
- Comments may not reference specific employees, patrons or students of the school corporation.
- Routine agenda items such as approval of minutes, certified and support staff and conference reports reviewed by the Board at each meeting are not matters subject to comments by the public during the Board meeting.
- If the information is readily available, and is not confidential, Board members or administrators may provide answers to questions. Under most circumstances, questions will be noted and answers returned to the speaker at a later time.
- Statements will not be abusive or argumentative. Persons making comments will not debate statements made by other persons.
- The Board president will enforce these rules and may take actions necessary to maintain order at the meeting. Such actions may include, but are not limited to:
- Stopping the speaker if the statement is too lengthy, unduly repetitive, or otherwise violates this procedure; and
- Limiting the total amount of time devoted to public statements based on the number of people wishing to make statements and the length of the agenda.
The policy which is already in effect for addressing the Board on any matter will remain in effect. This means that a person may be placed on the agenda by notifying the Superintendent or Board president at least one week prior to a scheduled Board meeting.