After debating until nearly 11 p.m. Tuesday, the district has finalized changes to its enrollment system: kids should only apply for schools outside of their neighborhood if they need a special program, like language immersion or special ed.
But not everyone is happy with this result, and not every student qualifies for special programs. Families, especially those from underserved schools, are asking: how will the district guarantee their students get support if they need more than their local schools can provide?
Adlah Chisti, a parent and former educator, said teacher turnover is higher in struggling schools in her neighborhood. She takes two buses to get her kid to school elsewhere. “A lot of the schools in the southeast don’t even have onsite counselors or social workers — a lot of resources that families need in the southeast in order to not just excel academically, but excel collectively as a family in a school.”
Now, the district has a much bigger task: they have to make each neighborhood school a great school. This could take years. But most of the school board believes this plan will force the district to be accountable to fixing their poorest schools.
“I think it is the path to getting the schools that are under-resources the resources they need,” said board member Matt Alexander. “We will make those investments, and we’re gonna have to strengthen every neighborhood school.”
But Chisti says parents have been waiting years for that promise to come true. “Don’t hold your breath on that.”
The district still has to decide where to draw the neighborhood boundary lines, and where to put the special programs: language pathways, special education, and transitional kindergarten are all in high demand.
They still don’t know how many students to expect at each school, and therefore how much money each school will get. And the complicated equations of who gets a seat first when a school is full, and whether to keep siblings together, are still up for debate.
Superintendent Maria Su will present a plan with all these details to the board by the end of March. They’ll have until April 13, 2027 to vote to adopt it.