By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

South Portland School Superintendent Suzanne Godin says redistricting
isn’t going to make anyone happy, but it’s a reality the school
department must face.

Speaking to members of the Ferry Village Neighborhood Conservation
Association last week, Godin outlined a “redistricting” plan for the
city’s five elementary schools and two middle schools to address
enrollment trends and inequities in educational programs and
opportunities. The process would also seek to better align the schools
with the district’s policy to educate students in their neighborhood
schools by returning English as a Second Language (ESL) students to
their home schools. Currently, ESL programs are only offered at Brown
Elementary School, Mahoney Middle School and the high school.

Throughout the month of January, Godin has been meeting with an
advisory committee of parents, school board members and school
officials and she will present her plan during budget hearings at 6:30
p.m. this Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the South Portland Community Center.

Godin said she is considering redistricting in the context of a five-year plan.

“I don’t want to redistrict every year,” she said. “Believe me, it’s not fun.”

In March, former Superintendent Wendy Houlihan proposed transferring a
group of 26 Thornton Heights area children from Skillin to Kaler
Elementary School. The plan met opposition from parents and failed to
get approval from the school board.    

Godin called the earlier proposal “stop-gap” and said it failed to address district-wide population and enrollment trends.

The 2008-2009 projected total elementary enrollment is expected to
reach 1,429 students – an increase of 11 students from the 2007-2008
school year. Middle school enrollments are expected to decrease from
685 students to 677 students next year.  

Skillin enrollments, for example, are expected to exceed the school’s
target of 400 students by 32 students, while Kaler is expected to
remain below capacity, Godin said.

“When you put in the projected enrollment, Skillin is severely overcrowded and it’s beginning to get pretty tight,” Godin said.

Brown and Dyer elementary schools are both expected to come close to
their target enrollments of 260 students next year. Special education
rooms at those schools are currently used for regular classroom
instruction, Godin said. At Skillin, three special education programs
are currently housed in one classroom.  

Godin said another goal of the “redistricting” plan is to ensure all
students have access to the same educational opportunities regardless
of what school they are attending. Using the percentage of students in
the district’s free/reduced lunch program as an indicator of
socioeconomic status, Godin said there are discrepancies throughout the
district.

According to 2007-2008 school enrollment figures, nearly 48 percent of
Kaler students are enrolled in the free/reduced lunch program, compared
to 15 percent of Dyer students. Nearly 31 percent of Mahoney Middle
School students receive free/reduced lunch compared to roughly 27
percent of Memorial Middle School students.

While Godin said moving ESL students from Brown Elementary School and
Mahoney Middle School to their neighborhood schools will likely create
more enrollment issues, she said some students are currently not taking
advantage of the ESL program because they do not want to leave their
home schools.

According to enrollment figures, there are currently 144 ESL students
attending South Portland schools, including the high school. There are
currently 62 ESL students attending Brown – a number that would
decrease to four if students were transferred to their home schools.

The majority of the ESL elementary students – 43 children – would
attend Skillin. Mahoney is the home school for only four out of the 20
students that currently attend its ESL program. Thirty students would
be transferred to Memorial.

Godin said she was still considering whether the process should be implemented all at once or in phases.

The school board is responsible for making the final decision.