Cedar Rapids school board extends school choice deadline

CEDAR RAPIDS - The deadline for families affected by school closures and boundary changes in the Cedar Rapids school district to pick a new school has been extended to April 18.

Parents of students at Polk Elementary School, which will close at the end of the school year, told the school board last night that their opportunities to tour school buildings was limited because of the district's spring break schedule.

Polk and Taylor Elementary students had their spring break/intersession from March 19 through March 30, and all other Cedar Rapids schools had spring break the week of March 26.

The original deadline to submit their school choice was April 4.

Mary Ellen Maske, the district's prekindergarten through either-grade executive administrator, told the school board last night the deadline was changed to address those concerns.

The extension applies to all families affected by the boundary changes and school closures.

Maske also told the board those families received a letter from the district explaining the school board's vote last month to close Polk and Monroe Early Childhood Center and identifying the school the student will attend in 2012-13.

Families opting to stay in the current school next year, if applicable, were informed of the steps to take to make that happen.

Maske said the letters sent to Polk families were different, as those students will be permitted to attend any elementary east of Interstate 380 and the Cedar River, - which includes Arthur, Erskine, Garfield, Grant Wood, Johnson, Kenwood, Nixon, and Wright - or to attend Taylor Elementary in the city's southwest quadrant.

Several Polk parents told the school board the letters were not received in a timely manner.

Superintendent Dave Benson told board members that more than 1,000 letters were mailed to families affected by the boundary changes and school closures. Benson said a “very small percentage” were returned as undeliverable, but that those families were contacted through other channels.

Maske said school staff will contact the all elementary school families this week to touch base with them on where they are in the decision process.

As of Monday, 91 of Polk's 181 students have made their elementary school choice for the 2012-13 school year.

District personnel affected by the boundary changes and school closures have met with their principals about the impact of the changes. However, the district has not been able to determine 2012-13 building assignments for these staff members. Maske said this will be decided after families have submitted their school choice letters to the district.

“Once we know where those numbers are going, we will do out staffing,” she said.

The projected transition timeline calls for student assignments to be completed in mid- to late April.

Budget approved

Board members approved the fiscal year 2013 budget Monday night. It includes total budgeted revenues of $242.8 million and total budgeted expenses of $252.2 million, but these numbers will change when the district's detailed line item budget is completed in May and June.

The approved tax levy rate of $15.16 per $1,000 of assessed valuation is unchanged from the current levy rate.