The CEC Plans To Vote Tonight To Rezone District 22 Elementary Schools

Over the past few weeks, parents, school officials and community members have been locked in controversy over the Department of Education’s proposal to rezone six District 22 elementary schools — P.S. 139, P.S. 134, P.S. 217, P.S. 245, P.S.152, P.S. 315, plus the upcoming P.S. K338 at 510 Coney Island Avenue, slated to open in September 2017.

Tonight, the Community Education Council will hear more parents’ comments before voting on the rezoning proposal, presented by the Department of Education Office of District Planning. The vote is on the agenda, after a presentation from the ODP representative, audience Q & A and council members final remarks.

But officials told us there is some possibility of a vote postponement, which would be announced at tonight’s meeting after comments from the public. Many parents and community members already requested a postponement because tonight is the Jewish holiday Sukkot, which parents say will prevent community members from attending the public meeting.

The stated goals of the proposal are to create a district for the new PS K338, alleviate overcrowding and reduce kindergarten waitlists. But many parents are concerned that the new zones will threaten the district’s diversity.

Between September 26, when the ODP made a presentation to frustrated parents, and October 17, many parents and community members have been outspoken against the proposal.

“As a Ditmas Park parent, diversity is the backbone of my community. I was shocked when I saw the new zoning lines on the map; it divides my neighborhood like a redline map from the 30s,” said one community member at a CEC hearing on October 6.

The question of community outreach

At the public rezoning meetings on September 26 and October 6, community members raised important issues plaguing schools throughout the city — overcrowding, segregation, lack of opportunity and low student retention.

But precluding a broader dialogue, parents and school officials can’t seem to agree on whether the community had a voice in this proposal.

Sources from the DOE told us that they had been holding public meetings since January, but scores of parents hadn’t even heard of the proposal until September 26, we reported.

Again on October 6, a representative from PS 139 commented that the ODP and CEC members had convened for multiple meetings with District 22 principals, parent associations and public forums. But many parents and community members responded by saying they felt ‘sandbagged’ by the proposal from the September 26 meeting, and criticized the lack of transparency and outreach.

Joel Siegel, president of the Ditmas Park West Neighborhood Association and a member of the non-profit Friends of 217 wrote a letter to Chancellor Fariña highlighting concerns about diversity, as well as the opacity of the rezoning process. He noted that a meaningful dialogue has yet to take place between the CEC, the ODP, and the PS 217 community.

A DOE source said that they have engaged in meaningful dialogue and will continue to have conversations with the community about the proposal.

A threat to diversity

The most outspoken parents against the rezoning proposal hail from PS 217, with strong representation from 1818 Newkirk Avenue, a building that would be cut from the zone by just one block.

“The proposed plan aims to reduce segregation in NYC public schools, it would send many of PS 217’s Black and Hispanic families to PS 152, a school that is already close to 90 percent Black and Hispanic – only exacerbating de facto segregation,” wrote Siegel.

PS 217, a Title 1 school, stands to lose the most students, according to parent Beth Dunfey, especially from 18th and 19th Streets between Newkirk and Foster, blocks which represent a large percentage of the school’s black and Latino students.

Representatives from the DOE said in a comment that the that proposed rezoning will not make significant changes to school demographics and that they worked closely with the CEC and District 22 community to ensure the proposal would meet the diversity standards.

PS 217 parent Nancy Seidler, who has been advocating for a middle school in the northern end of the district, will be attending the meeting tonight to urge the CEC to vote ‘no’ on the proposed rezoning plan. “The issue of over enrollment is being poorly addressed, lost students means lost funding. Enrollment has gone down by several hundred students since my kids have been attending PS 217, and I’m concerned it will have a serious negative impact,” Seidler told DPC.

Some parents, however, are looking forward to new opportunities brought by the proposed rezoning.

“Broadly, I support the rezoning. The bigger issue is, if we didn’t have the new school there would be overcrowding at all the other schools in the district. That’s something we can’t forget,” said Ben Anderson, parent of a 4-year-old in the district. “It has to benefit all of us, not just one group.”

Concerned about the school rezoning? Here’s how to engage in the process:

• Attend the CEC rezoning meeting tonight at PS 152, at 725 East 23rd Street between Glenwood Road and Campus Road. 6:30pm
• Email the CEC at CEC22@schools.nyc.gov.
• Can’t attend the meeting tonight but still want to stay updated? Watch our live Facebook feed here.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Ben Anderson, parent of a 4-year-old in the district as Pat Anderson, parent of a PS 139 student.