Overwhelmed Open Enrollment Process Reveals the Myth of School Choice.

     The Open Enrollment priority for kids at the closed schools is a farce. The Open Enrollment timeline was just an excuse for the hurried closure "process" --we have to rush to get the schools closed so that parents can apply for open enrollment. There is no way 2000 students can be accommodated through that process.  Students who live within the attendance boundaries have first choice at their neighborhood school regardless of open enrollment.  Then there is sibling preference and staff preference. Some schools like Hearst and Camellia have academic criteria. Due to high demand for some schools, all the open enrollment process guarantees parents is a lottery ticket. What about the parents who have no means of transportation to get their child to another school in the first place? 

      For the majority of these parents, their choice was their neighborhood school. That choice has been taken from them. Now either the open enrollment seats are limited or schools are too far away. School choice is a myth. The number one priority of the district should be to ensure that every child has a neighborhood school to attend. Then the district can offer "choices".  The district has failed to do that.  Charter schools will in inevitably locate at some of these closed sites, but they are under no obligation to educate the children of the neighborhood they locate in.
 
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/18/5270695/open-enrollment-demand-jumps-af...