MISD 012125 Open Enrollment Plan
The open enrollment plan being discussed as item number 14 D on the agenda is conceptually flawed and at least in one case makes no sense.
It is conceptually flawed in the assumption that simply having a policy is what is needed to get students to transfer into MISD grade and middle schools. At these grade levels, the most important driver to bring students into McKinney schools is academic performance and MISD schools in these grade levels compare unfavorably academically to our nearest competitor ISDs in Frisco, Prosper and Allen. The numbers are readily available to parents of prospective students and real estate agents in the area.
This new policy has been drawn up simply because Frisco has opened their enrollment and Allen has opened enrollment to its baccalaureate program and some administrator thought it would be a good idea for MISD but forgot about the need to compete with other schools academically. Or else they thought it might look good to show that they were doing something to fill empty seats/classrooms in MISD.
Within the new policy, MISD’s Superintendent (or most likely his designee) is vested with the power to decide where to assign a new student amongst 21 elementary schools and three middle schools. So the transfer applicant's parent, who will have to provide transportation under the new policy, can already see they will have no voice in deciding which school their student will attend, regardless of location or other preference. Remember again, today's savvy parents have access to data on individual schools' academic performance. They don’t want to be told where they’ll have to enroll little Johnny (or Jane) if that school is inferior to another.
Also within the revised guidelines, it is stated that transfer students must reapply to remain in the district in subsequent school years. The superintendent or his designee gets to determine the priorities for accepting a transfer applicant and these may change prior to the opening of "the transfer application window". So any perspective transfer applicant has zero security as to whether they will be allowed to stay in the next year. This makes no sense.
Finally, for parents who work around the edges of MISD, it might be convenient for them to leave their student at an existing bus stop, but that option is not allowed under the plan.
It is interesting that in the Impact Statement for this new open enrollment plan MISD admits finally that it is seeking to increase K-8 enrollment at designated schools with available capacity. However, this plan will do absolutely nothing for the reasons cited above. McKinney ISD is too late out of the gate in competition with Frisco and Allen in considering open enrollment. But more importantly, the product MISD is offering in K-8 is an inferior product due mostly to mismanagement, of which this worthless plan is but one example. Since 4 MISD elementary schools with low enrollment are located on the border of Frisco, it can be anticipated that Frisco is more likely to poach MISD elementary students than vice versa. Not to mention the competition from Allen and Frisco at other grade levels.
The "available capacity" referred to in the Impact Statement is in reality excess capacity that exists in seven elementary schools and one middle school. The district’s finances are beginning to spin towards insolvency while the Board refuses to consider a plan to consolidate and reduce the number of schools.