MIDDLETOWN -- The superintendent of Middletown Public Schools says all schools are compliant with state diversity standards and no major redistricting is necessary.
"We had a community forum a couple of weeks ago and we took that information, met with the committee, and ruled out some larger redistricting options," said Superintendent Dr. Patricia Charles. "We don't want people to feel disengaged from their schools, but we want to also solve some overcrowding issues and see if we can balance the schools out."
Macdonough School and Moody School were originally on a projected course to exceed state statutes designed to maintain racial diversity. Thursday evening, at a special informational meeting, district officials announced new enrollment data from October 2015 proved otherwise and the schools were projected to remain compliant. Otherwise, a major redistricting project would have to have been undertaken.
Consequently, the district has turned its attention to overcrowding at Farm Hill School which is around 40 students beyond its optimal capacity. Officials are looking at three options at the moment for dealing with the issue: portable classroom trailers, moving some programs to other schools and possibly redistricting some other families on a much smaller scale.
Parents applauded the new, revised plans Thursday night. No date has been set for when any options would be approved by the school board, which must give its blessing.
The plans would affect the 2016-2017 school year.
