Uproar as New School Lines Are Approved
Changes at P.S. 290 while families close to P.S. 151 are zoned out
Despite forceful opposition from parents and reluctance from some members of the District 2 Community Education Council, the CEC unanimously passed a rezoning proposal for the Upper East Side last week.
The rezoning plan, which the Department of Education adjusted slightly in response to parents" concerns, will create a new zone for an elementary school at the Our Lady of Good Counsel Building and shrink three surrounding zones as a result.
The CEC panel of parents listened as other parents reiterated their concerns about the zoning proposal–chiefly that making a smaller zone for P.S. 290, the Manhattan New School at 311 E. 82nd St., would result in reduced funding for the school and ultimately force reductions in staffing and special programming for the students there.
Sarah Blackburn, a parent whose children will be zoned for the new school at Our Lady of Good Counsel even though they live a block away from P.S. 151, asked that the CEC reject the proposal so the city could consider the petitions of a group of families who, like her, live on the north side of East 88th Street between First and Second avenues.
“Reinstating our side of the block would not change demographics or impact wait lists at either school, Blackburn said. “There is plenty of space at P.S. 151, especially since streets were added back into the P.S. 290 school zone.
George Janes, a parent of a student at P.S. 290 who has been a vocal opponent of the rezoning plan, urged the CEC to reject it because the DOE has not provided all of the requested data about how they made their capacity projections.
“If your questions weren"t answered, you need to reject the rezoning, Janes said. “It"s your only recourse. If you don"t say no, you make a decision using substandard data.
The new rezoning plan will shrink P.S. 290"s current 26-block zone, which was 40 blocks in 2010, to 18 blocks, which represents a tiny change to the original plan that the Department of Education (DOE) conceded's it was originally to be a 17-block zone. According to the DOE, this new plan will still leave P.S. 290 with a short wait list for its kindergarten class in fall 2012. The DOE based this on projections using the number of currently zoned students in the proposed new zone plus potential grandfathered siblings minus students who attend gifted and talented programs.
P.S. 158, the Bayard Taylor School at 1458 York Ave., and P.S. 151, the recently opened Yorkville Community School, will give up chunks of their current zones along with P.S. 290 in order to create the new zone for Our Lady of Good Counsel on East 91st Street.
The need to create a new zone for the school is what prompted the CEC to approve the proposal, but some council members weren"t happy about being placed in such a position, saying they felt that the DOE left them with little choice and even less information about how their conclusions were reached.
“We"ve been through this before in terms of people being really upset when they really have their hearts set on a particular school and they"re told they"re being rezoned for another school, said CEC member Beth Cirone.
“Sometimes, being part of a new school can be really exciting, building it from the ground up and getting the community involved, Cirone said. “I know people feel badly but I"m just telling you honestly, everyone we"ve heard from in the last two years who had these concerns ended up feeling really good and really happy.
Other members expressed frustration over not having as many options from the DOE as they would have liked, but ultimately supported creating a new zone for Our Lady of Good Counsel.
“This isn"t a perfect proposal, but we have the PTA president of P.S. 267 who started a school without a zone and he can tell you how difficult that is. For that reason, and to build a base at Our Lady of Good Counsel, I will be voting to approve this resolution, said CEC member Sarah Chu.
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