Students wishing to enroll at Goodrich will find the door open a little wider following Monday night’s special board meeting.
The Goodrich School Board voted 4-3 to join the state’s Schools of Choice program for the 2010-2011 school year. The board voted out of the Genesee County program.
By opting into the state’s school of choice program, Goodrich joins the Fenton School District to open up enrollment to students from other districts, which allows an unlimited influx of students from outside the district.
The decision keeps the window for enrollment open until the end of the first week of in September, and will also allow enrollment during the second semester of the school year. The state Schools of Choice program will not require a release from school administration if the student opts to come to Goodrich.
Trustee James Bertrand, Board Vice-President Tim Zirnhelt, Board Secretary Doug Tetmeyer and Trustee Jeff Gardner voted for the change. Board President Michael Tripp, Treasurer Linda Jackson and Trustee Lynne Morisette opposed the move to the state Schools of Choice.
Led by District Superintendent John Fazer, the school board offered two informational meetings regarding the Schools of Choice to field public questions. Fazer said that one of the concerns that emerged from the meetings was the student capacity of the district buildings.
‘The district has a capacity for an additional 487 students without converting other spaces in the buildings over to classrooms,? he said. ‘It’s based on 30 students per classroom.?
Jackson expressed opposition to the state program change.
‘Schools of Choice is a ridiculous way of funding schools’we gain while other districts lose,? she said ‘It’s a sad alternative. It’s all about money, money, money. It’s not educationally sound.?
Jackson was also concerned about the families that moved to the Goodrich District specifically for the schools and now students can come here to attend class and not live in the district.
‘Taxpayers in the district are paying for buildings, while others from outside the community are utilizing those resources. Our families in the district deserve better,? she said.
Trustee James Bertrand did not see it that way.
‘It’s all we have,? said Bertrand. ‘This is reality. It’s not good, but it is what it is. We have the buildings, but we don’t have the kids in the classrooms.?
Tetmeyer also supported the change.
‘Last year we gained 41 students from Schools of Choice and we are still losing students,? he said. ‘I’ve walked down the halls of these school buildings and I can’t tell the180 Schools of Choice students. A vote against the state Schools of Choice is a vote to cut more teachers.?
During the 2009-10 school year the Goodrich School District had 41 students apply for Schools of Choice program, with a limit of 22 students under the current Schools of Choice program accepted. Following a lottery for the openings, the remaining 19 applicants were also accepted later, after school officials from their home school released the students to Goodrich.
Currently, about 134 Schools of Choice students from 18 districts in Genesee County are in Goodrich, with 59 students from Grand Blanc, 28 from Davison and 16 who live in the Atherton school district.
A total of 47 attend Goodrich from outside Genesee County, including 20 from the Brandon School District, 15 from the Lapeer School District and seven from the Holly School District.
The Schools of Choice is a year-to-year and will be reevaluated in the spring of 2011.