Magnet Proposal Update - Continued Holding Pattern

I last updated the community on Thursday, January 31st, 2013, and indicated that Pat Copeland assured me that we would have an answer by today, Monday, February 4th, 2013.

I called the School Choice Office this morning and left a message for Ms. Copeland at approximately 10 AM.  I received a return phone call at approximately 4:30 PM today.

Ms. Copeland indicated that although our proposal has been reviewed and discussed, no decision is available at this time.

I asked when a decision could be expected and she was uncertain but felt that by 2 PM, tomorrow, February 5th, 2013, that a decision would be available.  I indicated that our School Council meeting is scheduled for 5 PM tomorrow and if a decision will not be available by that time that an additional meeting would need to be scheduled.  I also reiterated that open enrollment now begins in less than one week and our community is very uneasy with the lack of responsiveness and absence of transparency from DCSD.

I asked if any additional information or discussion from Evansdale administration or School Council would be helpful.  She indicated that all necessary information was available to them.  This indicates the School Choice office has been in possession of all information necessary for the decision making process since December 4th, 2012, but has not yet been able to come to a decision.  They do not want any additional information to assist in the process so it is unclear to me what the additional time is necessary to facilitate.

I will make additional phone calls to the School Choice office tomorrow and will also send email communication to DCSD central office staff to continue to try to push this issue forward.

While I felt that the request to wait until today was reasonable given the upheaval in the central office last week, I believe the time for patience is slipping away.

I will update the community as soon as I have any information to share.  We will have our meeting tomorrow at 5 PM regardless of whether or not DCSD provides a decision by that point.