Letter from the Board of Education

January 18, 2018

Dear Community Members,

We hope the New Year is off to a good start for you and your families. We appreciate that there is a lot of concern surrounding our District space/enrollment challenges and offer this recap of what has happened, together with a summary of what is coming next.

The Board of Education has been carefully watching our climbing enrollment for the last three years and has discussed the issue at televised Board meetings since December, 2015. We also have conducted a space audit of our elementary schools and have been updating our projections several times a year. Nevertheless, this fall 471 kindergarteners started in our schools -- 60 more than projected in May and 95 more than anticipated by the 2011 demographic study. More information is available on our Space/Enrollment webpage.

Task Force Interest Meeting to be Held Wednesday, January 31

In October, we advised the community that we would be convening a Task Force to consider the long-term implications and potential options to address our space and enrollment challenges. We will be publicizing our process for application to the Task Force later this week. As part of the application process, we will be asking all community members interested in joining the Task Force to attend a meeting on Wednesday, January 31 at 7:30 pm at the Hommocks Library, or, alternatively, to watch a video of the meeting before applying to be part of the Task Force. Stay tuned for more information.

Exploration of Near-Term Solutions -- If Needed

As we advised the community at three well attended meetings in October, our projections at that time were that we would be able to accommodate all expected enrollment at our elementary schools for September 2018 -- but just barely.

Given the recent history of late enrollments that exceed projections, we asked the administration to help us explore possible options in the event that we were to learn over the summer (or before) that one or more of our elementary schools will be unable to accommodate the number of students projected to attend. To further fine tune our projections, we have opened our kindergarten registration process two weeks earlier than usual and are in the process of gathering information from our families as to additional children they expect to attend our schools in September.

At our November and December meetings, we explored the possibility of modular classrooms at Chatsworth and Murray. We learned that such classrooms cannot be ordered for manufacture without a lengthy approval process (requiring both a community vote and State approval) and a significant commitment of funds. We recognized that installation of modular classrooms would also impact available outdoor play areas, but determined on the basis of the required lead time and cost alone that modular classrooms were not a viable option for the fall.

In December, we advised the community that in January we would explore possible redistricting as a potential near-term solution.

Next Steps: Exploration of Redistricting with Flex-Zones at Upcoming Meetings

At our meeting on Tuesday, January 23, we will be learning more about an option that would provide for flexible elementary zoning.

Currently, our District is divided into four elementary school district zones that predate our current Board and administration. The administration will be presenting an option that would "grandfather" all families who currently have a child attending a particular elementary school. Siblings would remain with siblings.

We will be learning more about the details of this option on January 23, as well as other ways we might accommodate a large influx of students in the fall. We will have additional business, but will have some time for community questions as well. The Board will not be deciding on any near-term option on January 23. More information about the meeting will be available the day before.

Upcoming Meetings and Discussion of Additional Near-Term Options

Our February 6 meeting will be a community conversation devoted to issues around our space/enrollment challenges. We will be meeting in the Hommocks Library instead of our usual venue to facilitate discussion by the broader community. We will distribute information about the structure of this meeting closer to February 6.

At the January 23 or February 6 meetings or thereafter, the Board may ask the administration to explore additional near-term options. At our February 27 meeting, the Board may decide whether flexible zoning or some other option might make sense for our District. At that point, we will have additional information to consider, including kindergarten registration numbers and the results from our family census.

Under State law, the Board of Education is responsible for making decisions about how students will be assigned to schools. We will seek input from the administration and the community, but there will not be a community vote.

Communication with the Community as a Whole

We appreciate the large number of thoughtful questions and comments we have had to date and encourage you to continue to write us at Board@mamkschools.org. Not all questions will be answered individually, but Board members will review and consider all emails. Questions may be addressed at future meetings or on the District website in frequently asked questions.

We also encourage you to share this email with friends or neighbors who may not receive our District emails. Anyone in the community who would like to be added to our email list should submit this short form housed on the News page of the District website (see top of page), which allows for easy sign-up to receive District news and information.

We hope to see many of you at one or more of our upcoming meetings. If you cannot attend, we hope you will watch on LMC-TV, or by accessing the video on the LMC-TV website.

Respectfully,

The Mamaroneck Board of Education

Melany Gray, President

Steve Warner, Vice President

Paul Bulova, Secretary

Rina Beder, Roger Martin, Sam Orans, Sari Winter, Trustees