JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD PREPARES TO OPEN SOUTH ELEMENTARY

JACKSON -- The Jackson Board of Education began preparing for next fall's scheduled opening of South Elementary School Tuesday by approving building assignment guidelines and reviewing new school boundaries.

Assistant Superintendent Fred Jones presented a set of guidelines prepared by elementary school principals for granting interdistrict transfers to students living in a specific attendance area. The assignment guidelines will place authority over the requests with building principals, and reassignments will only be granted when submitted in writing for "educationally sound reasons," he said.

"The building principals will be given broad discretion to make that decision," he said. "The assignment guidelines are not new, but the process for which parents can request being excluded are new. This solidifies the guidelines for all principals so that everyone is working from the same standard."

Jones said the district will probably see a substantial increase in such requests from parents because of the opening of South Elementary School. He anticipated some displeasure from parents who want their children reassigned for their convenience in going to work or daycare centers.

"There's going to be some hardships, we know, because it won't be the best personal reason for parents," he said. "But if you accept personal reasons like child care or the parent's place of work, you may be putting hardships on another person who may have to be assigned to another attendance area."

After the guidelines were unanimously approved by the board, Jones revealed tentative new attendance area boundaries for the 1998-99 school year. The boundaries need to be redrawn so that student and staff assignments can be made as quickly as possible, he said.

Boundaries for North Elementary School and Gordonville and Millersville attendance areas will remain virtually the same, Jones said. The most significant changes will affect Primary Annex and Orchard Elementary School.

The kindergarten through fifth grade student population at South Elementary School will consist mainly of students living within Jackson city limits; however, a small population of students living near Cape Girardeau city limits in the Lamplighter Trailer Court area will also be assigned to the building.

The proposed South Elementary boundaries encompass all roads east of Shawnee Street and south of E. Main Street, along Highway 25 to County Road 316 past the Oak Ledge Trailer Court. Included in this area is the Grand View Acres subdivision.