3/7/14 - The new lines have been drawn between Pinckney's two remaining elementary schools once Lakeland Elementary closes at the end of the school year. The elementary is being closed to save money in response to declining enrollment rates in the district. Last night, Superintendent Rick Todd unveiled the new plan to the Pinckney School Board and explained the various changes that will accompany it. The division between Country and Farley Hill Elementaries will remain largely unchanged, although they will absorb Lakeland former territory. This will leave both schools within 10% of their total capacity in the fall. Additionally, Todd says the district will no longer allow parents to select which of the two schools their children will attend. The only exemptions this fall will be students entering 3rd grade who want to remain at the same school until they move on to Navigator, as well as their younger siblings. Todd says the district is working hard to make sure both schools have the same opportunities for students to minimize the need for intra-district school of choice. Earlier this year, the district was considering making one of the schools preschool through 1st grade, and the other 2nd and 3rd grade only, as a way to make staffing more efficient. There was resistance from parents and teachers to this idea, and in the end Todd says it had to be scrapped due to the opposition as well as the logistics of transporting students from around the 93-square-mile district to both schools. The district will be contacting families that will be affected by the redistricting or the end of intra-district school of choice to explain the new situation. (TD)
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