Redistricting in West Chester Area School District

The West Chester Area School District is in the process of redistricting its school boundaries. This is a serious matter that affects the lives of many families living within the District.

On October 3, 2014, the District released a proposed plan for the redistricting of the elementary school boundaries (SK6B). The plan calls for, among many other changes, the uprooting of 64 students from Mary C. Howse to East Bradford (Area 5) as well as 7 WC Boro students from Mary C. Howse to Hillsdale (Area 1). In support of this plan, the District claims that Mary C. Howse is currently 91 students over and above its capacity, based on a purported capacity of 450 students.

The proposed redistricting will disrupt the lives of many Mary C. Howse and East Bradford families without reasonable data to back up this tremendous decision.

• Mary C. Howse is Not Overcrowded. The facts do not support the District’s claim that Mary C. Howse is “overcrowded”. Mary C. Howse is one of the largest elementary schools within the District, by square footage. Notably, Mary C. Howse was never identified as overcrowded and in need of “relief” in the initial demographic studies conducted by the District. Further, the District’s demographic studies demonstrate that starting next year Mary C. Howse’s enrollment, which is currently at its peak, will decline by more than 11% by 2018 without redistricting.

• No Educational Benefit to Students. The proposed plan will not provide the affected students any discernible educational benefit. At the moment, every class at Mary C. Howse is within the guidelines set by the District for class size. There is no guarantee that class size will be reduced at East Bradford and in fact it could be higher.

• Hardships to Families. Many of the students being redistricted will have a significantly longer bus ride. This presents various safety concerns. Furthermore, East Bradford operates on an earlier bell schedule than Mary C. Howse, causing financial and logistical hardship for families that need to alter employment schedules and/or make different child care arrangements.

• Disruption to the Community. The families of both affected and non-affected students view this as a major disruption to Mary C. Howse’s overall school community. Removing this integral portion of our school’s population will not only impact the redistricted families but will alter the dynamic for the students who will remain as well. Taking these children and their families out of this community, particularly when we find such action to be factually unsound, is the wrong thing to do.

The proposed redistricting is arbitrary, and it appears that the District is simply looking to add students to a school, East Bradford, to help justify an $11 million addition.

We ask that you review the facts behind the proposed plan and, if you agree that the redistricting should not move forward, please sign below.