Posted By: Paul Butler
Okemos School Board:
On 2/5/7 the board redistricted the Sanctuary from Bennett Woods to Hiawatha. One board member questioned whether this mini-redistricting was attached to any master plan, but instead of an answer she received a quick chiding into silence.
Nonetheless her question is still a very legitimate one. Does the district have a redistricting master plan? If so, is this plan fair and equitable?
Does the district endorse neighborhood schools as you implied when you discussed the Sanctuary redistricting? If so you must return Tacoma Hills and Shaker Heights to Edgewood Elementary. You have robbed Tacoma Hills and Shaker Heights of their neighborhood school, and you have left them as neighborhoods without a school. No neighborhood should face a second redistricting in a few short years, unless it is done to rectify a past poor decision.
If you do not endorse neighborhood schools then it is time to reassess the entire elementary districting plan. Who knows, with a bit of innovation you might even come up with a plan that is not only fair, but provides more efficient use of district facilities and saves money too.
You now propose Tacoma Hills and Shaker Heights be redistricted for the second time in just a few short years. Tacoma Hills residents have been told that this is not really redistricting but implementation of the K-5 committee recommendations of a few years ago.
You will recall the K-5 committee, the one that originally recommended the division of Briarwood then backed down when protests ensued. You will remember the K-5 committee, the one that resulted in an OMA suit, a suit that you did not win.
My message: Do the right thing. Redistrict Tacoma Hills and Shaker Heights back to Edgewood. Show the district you are not just a board for Hiawatha and Bennett Woods and Montessori, but a board for the entire district, even Tacoma Hills.
Paul R. Butler
Tacoma Hills
prbutler55@yahoo.com