In a Blow to Rancho Elementary, School District Moves Toward Uniform Enrollment Procedures

Several key changes in the enrollment policy at Novato public schools appear headed toward final approval in June, much to the dismay of parents who made emotional appeals at Tuesday’s school board meeting to retain a system that they say is fair and works well.

Rancho is the only Novato public elementary school without geographic borders from which to draw its students (aside from ), and its supporters have long felt that the open enrollment through a lottery system and wait list could not be more equitable.

But theboard of trustees voted unanimously to adopt new guidelines that would eliminate Rancho’s standard policy of requiring a school tour by prospective parents and students and allowing those on the wait list to roll over to the next school year. They also decided to hold wait list lotteries for all schools at the same time rather than having a separate one each January for Rancho students.

The trustees approved the first reading of the new policy and won’t make a final vote on it until June 21. But the fact that the stance was unanimous spoke volumes as they move toward homogenizing all enrollment polices district-wide in the interest of “leveling the playing field,” in the words of several speakers.

Many Rancho supporters wore red clothing at the meeting in a show of solidarity to their cause. Scott Ciampi spoke to the trustees frankly and said that it would be disingenuous to deny that the issue of changing Rancho to a neighborhood school with traditional geographic borders — an item not on the agenda Tuesday — didn’t go hand in hand with the decision on open enrollment policy changes.

“I sincerely ask that you reconsider this change and allow people to have a voice, unlike what you did with Hill,” he said, referring to the board’s decision to close in a January decision that many believed was sudden and without sufficient public debate.

In a widely circulated e-mail, Rancho's lottery process was described as transparent and equitable, and “making any changes to the process will not only be an expensive prospect but will create confusion and bureaucracy that will disenfranchise the very people we hope to protect.”

Rancho, which years ago had a specialized curriculum as an “essentialist” school, has been teaching the same curriculum as all other public schools since 2002, yet the lottery system has continued because any student in Novato is eligible to enroll. It's a popular school; there are five to six times more applicants than there are eligible spots. The school is less ethnically diverse than other Novato schools and has the highest test scores, according to district and state statistics.

Dozens of people have spoken up at recent board meetings to say that Rancho should draw its student body from the neighborhood in which it is located — the Presidents area, not far from Novato High and just behind the Nave shopping center. Several residents of that neighborhood have complained that they cannot send their kids to a school within walking distance and have to drive their kids to other schools because they didn’t get lucky with the lottery system.

The district is moving forward with an of its school borders that would most likely take effect in time for the 2012-13 school year, so the neighborhood school issue will simmer for at least another six to nine months.

Most speakers Tuesday were in favor of the board’s approval of the revisions to district regulations on intradistrict open enrollment and critical of Rancho’s setup.

Novato resident Amy Griggs said she was tired of not being able to approach certain subjects with her neighborhood friends because of the awkward situation that arises when some friends are outspoken Rancho parents.

“To keep Rancho’s enrollment policy furthers the misconception that it is a better school than any other public school in Novato,” she said. “The only difference is two words: parent participation. For the good of all of Novato, today and forever, we should stop the insanity” of the Rancho wait list rollover and required school tours, she added.

Ross Ingels, a parent, said Rancho justifies its lottery system by citing regulations than cannot be found on the school district website, and added that Rancho’s specialized enrollment policy have “a drastic negative effect on our district.”

The district confirmed after Tuesday’s meeting that the regulation cited by Ingels, a provision called Exhibit A that allowed Rancho to have a specialize enrollment system, is no longer listed in the district regulations and there is no record of a board action that eliminated it.

Other parents mentioned how long-term friendships have been broken over allegiances and competition between elementary schools, and another said the Rancho polices send a message that schools can make up their own rules.  Yet another equated Rancho with bullying the rest of the elementary schools by demanding preferential treatment, and one speaker blamed the Rancho issue on perpetual divisiveness in the community.

“I believe if we have the same agenda and same rules for every school, that will increase unity in our divided community,” said parent Sarah Feingold. “Please be the leaders we have elected you to be and bring our parent base and community back together.”