Iowa City school district releases report on magnet school possibility

IOWA CITY - An appointed task force predicts the Iowa City Community School District could open a magnet school as early as September 2017 if the board approves a plan.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Iowa City Community School District board will hear the report from the Magnet School Task Force, consisting of recommendations on numerous aspects of planning and opening a magnet school.

The task force, which consists of district faculty, staff members and parents, was commissioned last fall after years of parents expressing interest in the possibility.

The purpose of the task force was to explore best practices for implementing a magnet school to balance socioeconomic diversity across the district. Magnet schools do this, according to the report, by attracting students through recruitment and lotteries to create populations representative of the community.

The report comes only weeks after the district rescinded its diversity policy. The policy, which faced questions of legality since before it passed in February 2013, would have used data from the federal free and reduced-price meal program to assess poverty and balance socioeconomic levels among schools.

Superintendent Stephen Murley said the board still is looking into ways to create equity among schools.

'The magnet school discussion still is a viable discussion in terms of creating a more equitable learning environment throughout the district,” he said.

The task force met nine times between October and January and visited multiple magnet schools in other parts of the country.

Their presentation Tuesday will touch on the work of five subcommittees the task force created to address the topics of community engagement, school theme, organizational framework, policy and practice development, and resource allocation.

Also included is a timeline for implementation. According to the report, it takes 15 to 18 months to open a magnet school. If the district were to begin the process in May 2016, it could be ready to open a school by fall 2017.

When the idea of opening a magnet school first was considered, the board discussed the possibility of creating one at Twain Elementary School. Murley said the board is willing to consider a number of elementary schools centrally located in the city, but the possibility still is open for a magnet middle or high school.