What if Fort Mill students didn’t have to attend their school? It’s up for discussion

Fort Mill school leaders aren’t saying students and parents can pick their school within the district. But the issue is on the table.

On Tuesday night, the Fort Mill school board will field a conversation on open enrollment within the district. There is no vote expected. There is no action item. Just an initial conversation planned to gauge interest, and perhaps talk of how it might work.

“This discussion might be all there ever is to it,” board member Patrick White said Monday.

The district has some precedent for parents picking which school within the district their students attend. When Gold Hill Elementary School opened in 1994, it was the first time the district had multiple sites serving the same grade levels. A decision was made allowing district staff to choose which elementary school his or her student would attend.

“That perk started a long time ago, basically when we had Fort Mill Elementary and Gold Hill Elementary,” White said. “It was more of a convenience for employees.”

The new school in 1994 opened to 600 total students.

Now, with 15 schools open in Fort Mill, there are around 200 students using the district perk. There are several times more employees. Also, there is more interest in picking schools given multiple middle and high schools with their sports teams, fine arts programs and other offerings where a family might prefer one school instead of another.

Tuesday’s discussion involves the possibility of opening up the same option to any district resident.

"I personally don't like that policy,” White said of the employee-only model. “I think we ought to do that for all children and not just if you teach in the district. If it works for district employees, I don't see why as a taxpayer it couldn't work.”

Another reason, he said, is he is aware of situations where people seek or get district jobs for the sake of switching schools to get into a certain program. The perk is available for administrators and teachers, but also school staff workers, bus drivers — anyone the district employs.

“At some point in time it quit being about the convenience of where the teacher worked,” White said.

The discussion Tuesday isn’t likely to include scenarios where all families pick and choose schools. A possible option would be a system where, if space is available at a certain school, families can elect to send children there instead of to the school where the students are zoned. The choice only would be available to residents already within the district.

The district would have to determine how it would select which students could make the move. It likely would be a one-time move where the student must remain at the new school. Parents would have to provide transportation, as schools wouldn’t bus the students in from other areas within the district.

“You'd have to put restrictions on it,” White said. “There's a lot of issues.”

White said he doesn’t have a feel for how other board view the issue. He doesn’t know whether it will gain momentum or, if it does, when the district might implement changes. He expects to know more after the meeting Tuesday night.

“It's just to start a discussion,” White said.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "What if Fort Mill students didn’t have to attend their school? It’s up for discussion."