A new map that changes where township students attend elementary or middle school will be presented at the board's Dec. 14 work session.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- The time has come.
After years of discussion and planning, the school district is now moving forward with efforts to redistrict which township neighborhoods feed into its six elementary and three middle schools, as well as implement a full-day kindergarten program.
"I want to get it out there to show folks what it is that we're looking at right now in terms of movement, so people can start wrapping their heads around it," said Superintendent Joe Bollendorf, who will introduce a first draft of a proposed updated map of the district's sending neighborhoods to the board of education at its work session on Monday, Dec. 14.
The idea is to get the map, which Bollendorf stressed is far from final, out to the public to draw input, and then hold a large community forum on Jan 21 at the high school's Investors Bank Performing Arts Center that will provide further details about both the redistricting plan and the move to full-day kindergarten. A tentative vote on the plan is scheduled for Jan. 26, but any formal approval will have to wait for the spring.
Bollendorf said that's because both of those initiatives -- which go hand-in-hand as redistricting would free up the space for full-day kindergarten -- are dependent on the district's state aid.
If the state keeps the aid flat, giving the district the same amount it did last year, they will be able to implement both at the start of the next school year. If not, Bollendorf said the district would have to go over the 2-percent cap on tax levy increases for public entities in order to fund full-day kindergarten, a move that must go before voters, and that's a discussion no one has had yet.
"We want to do it within our existing budget," said Bollendorf. "We feel confident we can accomplish that goal."
The most recent talk of redistricting dates back at least three years, when administrators and school board members first ramped up the redistricting discussion as they sought a way to even out the number of students in each of the large district's school after years of dropping enrollment left them uneven.
Redistricting also would solve a logistical issue that cropped up when new housing developments were built and students from the new homes were placed in whichever schools had room, meaning some students are now bussed far across town.
Previous redistricting plans were met with numerous delays as the board's redistricting committee and the district administration worked on a plan. A demographer was hired at one point to take on the task, but that plan included shifting far more students from their schools, and has since been scrapped, said Bollendorf.
The new map includes far fewer students moving, but Bollendorf said he understands any amount of of movement means parents will have questions and concerns, and he wants to address those before any plan is put into place.
"There will be uneasiness and people will be uncomfortable, not wanting to change their schools," he said.
The district operates one school for all of its kindergarten classes, Grenloch Terrace Early Childhood Center -- Bollendorf said it's too early to talk about how it will be impacted by the initiatives -- and six elementary schools. Each of the elementary schools feeds into one of the district's three middle schools, which then all feed into the township's one high school.
Under the plan to be introduced next week, Bollendorf said only 652 students in 1st through 8th grades will be affected by redistricting, about 13 percent of the school's population.
Any student who would have to change schools for their final year, whether they're going into 5th or 8th grade, would have the option to stay at their original school if parents provide transportation.
If the students take advantage of that option, only about 400 students out of the district's 7,400 population will shift schools
"It's very minimal," said Bollendorf.
It's likely the implementation of the full-day kindergarten plan will be met with enthusiasm, he said. More than 70 percent of schools statewide offer the program, and making it a part of Washington Township's offerings will allow more time for educating students, as well as more time for play and quiet times, which are crucial at a young age, he said.
"It's a movement nationwide, and we certainly want to avail all of our kids to all of the opportunities we can," said Bollendorf. "A full-day program is going to allow us to do more academically but also allow us to put back into the program a lot of those other aspects about what kindergarten should be about."
The board's Dec. 14 work session begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Eileen Abbott Central Administration Building on East Holly Avenue.
The redistricting map will be available on the district's website after the meeting, and the comprehensive community meeting at the performing arts center will begin at 7 p.m on Jan. 21.
Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
