More about rezoning in D15
/By Joyce Szuflita
First, as many of you know, the rezoning plan for Bococa including PS 15, 29, 32, 38, 58, 261 and 676 has been postponed to distribute information more deeply and engage the community in the planning. As far as we know the current zoned lines will be in place for 20/21 admission season. So all of you with 2015 bday kids applying for kindergarten - it will be business as usual.
Any changes will be made in the fall/winter of 2020 and take effect for kids entering the schools in fall of 2021. Any students currently attending the school at that time in K-5th grade will be unaffected by the rezoning and can remain in the school even if their home zoning status changes.
The District has announced that there will be a new rezoning effort made in Sunset Park where 3 new Prek-5th schools are being built. Read the Chalkbeat article for more information. All rezoning is done through the District CEC (Community Education Council). They have their next meeting (where they will be discussing the process) on Nov. 19. Sign up for the D15 CEC email blasts so that you can stay current on all this information.
Sunset Park has some of the most overcrowded schools in the whole City. Some new facilities have been built and opened in the last several years (Sunset Park High School and PS 516 to name two) but it looks like that has ramped up in earnest with these proposed programs. The District is planning on engaging the community in conversation about this rezoning. Since they are just at the beginning of the process this will NOT go into effect for the 20/21 school year.
For those of you in other parts of the District who will undoubtedly call me in a panic because you fear that your neighborhoods will be rezoned. SIT ON YOUR HANDS. Dudes, these rezonings are precipitated by new school construction and wild over-crowding. Do you see any new school buildings going up in your neighborhood? No? Then there are no plans.
Does your school have capped wait lists? No? (and I am talking to you 321 families - you don’t have capped wait lists, stop thinking that you do)
Then there are no plans.
We can’t predict the future, but most of Park Slope, South Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington has been rezoned within recent memory and many of the schools are stable or under capacity. Don’t find trouble where there is none. We have too many other real things to worry about. AND, while painful (cause any change sucks) the rezoning is trying to make things better.
