No final plans for the re-districting have been decided on yet, but the district’s leader told school families and residents she is grateful for the public input – compiled since a public meeting held last month - as the school system’s officials and school board formulates the biggest school changes since 2011.
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended our December community meeting to discuss the proposed boundary options for our K-6 Redistricting Project,” stated Middletown Schools Superintendent Deborah Houser in a recent message to the school community.
“Your active participation and thoughtful feedback play a crucial role in shaping a process that reflects the needs and values of our entire community,” said Houser.
A sampling of hundreds of comments the district has received – either directly from the December meeting or via an online portal – shows a wide variety of responses to each of the four re-districting options to start next school year for seven elementary schools and district’s magnet school Central Academy.
More than 3,300 K-6 students could be affected in the 2025-2026 school year.
They range from a single word criticism of the first of four proposed plans – “absurd” wrote one resident – to much longer critiques both negative and positive.
“I don’t believe we should be making these changes. Middletown is choosing not to address issues that they already have and now want to add more onto the plate that is currently filled. Maybe start focusing on real issues instead of smashing more kids into an already crowed bunch of elementary,” wrote one of the anonymous survey participants about option one.
While another respondent noted they liked the same proposal for their children, writing: “I like that Highview will house Central Academy, Central will become ELC and that 6th (grade) will be returning to the elementaries. Most students will be attending closest neighborhood school.”
Having more K-6 students attending schools in their neighborhoods is one of the guiding focuses of the four, sweeping options, district officials have said since the re-districting plans were announced in October.
“This feedback will serve as a guiding resource as we refine the proposed boundary options to best meet the needs of our students, families, and schools,” said Houser.
Plans call for the Middletown Board of Education to decide on a final redistricting plan in the coming weeks.
“The next phase of this project involves presenting a final recommendation to the board of education. The board is expected to review and consider approval during an upcoming meeting. This decision will mark a significant step forward in our efforts to enhance and modernize the K-6 experience for our families,” she said.
The four options – including maps and details on attendance zones via viewers entering their home addresses – can be viewed on Middletown Schools’ website as can the public comments on each of the plans, which are available here.
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