School choice policy to remain in effect with sister school model to roll out in the fall - Newport Dispatch
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School choice policy to remain in effect with sister school model to roll out in the fall

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LRUEMS board chair Neil Urie passes around a microphone for public comments ahead of a passing vote on the future structure of the schools in the district.

BARTON –– The Lake Region Union Elementary and Middle School (LRUEMS) board of directors voted to keep the school choice policy in effect as the sister school model is put into motion.

At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the board approved the transition to the sister school model for the 2025-2026 school year. Additionally, the school choice policy that says that students can attend the school of their choice, as long as it is within the same district, will not be suspended during the transition, as proposed by the administrators who presented the sister school proposal.

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During the meeting, the sister school model was explained again, this time to a room full of taxpayers, faculty, and parents. The floor was then opened to the public for questions. The sister school idea came about when the school principals were charged with coming up with a way to ease the burden of high taxes and significant staffing shortages.

The sister school model is expected to enhance collaboration among teachers and provide better support for the students, as well as creating an appropriate age-sense-of- community within each school.

Public comments encompassed questions regarding the Albany HeadStart preschool program being in the Albany school, which will become a fifth through eighth grade middle school, and the concern that bus routes would become more complicated. There was also concern raised about the idea that the school choice option would be suspended for a year while the schools make the transition.

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Both community and several board members commented in support of school choice before wrapping up the community forum and putting the sister school proposal to a vote, which passed unanimously.

After it was made clear that the sister school model will be implemented in the fall, a separate motion to suspend the school choice policy for one year while the schools are transitioning was made. That vote was split by a large margin, where several board members voted against a one-year suspension of school choice in the district.

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