School board passes proposed redistricting plan
Previous Redistricting Developments
Board members Terry Tolle and Amanda Shera read over a paper one of the speakers handed out which outlined their points at the HSE redistricting final meeting on Dec. 12.
After voting on several different amendments, the school board unanimously voted to approve of the preferred redistricting plan brought to them by HSE school’s Superintendent Allen Bourff on Dec. 12.
The amendments that the board passed include keeping the 11 students in the Logan’s Pointe neighborhood at Durbin Elementary and keeping the six students in The Anchorage neighborhood at Brooks School Elementary. However, 2,250 students will still be moved from their current school.
Before discussing any amendments, the board heard from 10 members of the public, all of which had previously spoken at the meeting on Nov. 28. They emphasized that their children would be on a bus for much longer than the estimated calculations and that they did not believe the preferred plan was thought out thoroughly.
For the next school year, the district is offering students in third, fifth and seventh grade to apply to be grandfathered into their current school. However, the district will not provide transportation for those students.
Senior Rebekah White currently lives in the HSE district but receives transportation to FHS because she is an IB student. With the new plan, her neighborhood will not receive transportation.
“I know my younger brother wants to do the IB program but they’re not offering transportation for those students. Now my other brother who is currently a sophomore is being forced to learn how to drive and get his license more quickly so that he can drive my younger brother.”
While many people are disappointed with the redistricting, some are relieved that the board did not approve of some of the earlier plans.
“My brother lives within walking distance of the junior high that he goes to currently,” sophomore Izzy Alexander said. “It would have been weird to have him go past 37 to go to Riverside when he could just walk to Fishers junior high. It’s so far away that it doesn’t make sense for him to have to cross the big highway to get to school. I’m relieved that he gets to stay at his junior high and finish out his year there.”
This plan will go into effect during the 2019 – 2020 school year.
Ashley is the copy editor of the newspaper and is currently a senior. In her future, she wants to get a job that allows her to travel all around the world....
