INDIANAPOLIS — The Perry Township School Board voted on a plan to reshape schools in the district Monday night.
The board gave unanimous support for the proposal, but that was hardly the case among parents who spoke out against eliminating school choice before the board voted.
Superintendent Patrick Mapes called the proposal that was approved a kind of compromise in that students who want to stay at their current school will have a chance to try and do that, but it won't be guaranteed.
"I think we will have some kids who won't be able to remain in their same school because their parents can't provide transportation and we'll have some kids who may not be able to stay in their same school because they don't get selected because of capacity," said Mapes.
"Not all kids are resilient, not all kids can bounce back," Jennifer Byrd told the board before the vote.
That's the same message several parents tried to convey before the board voted on their proposal to end school choice and create boundaries for the district's 11 elementary schools.
District officials have said the move was necessary because they don't have enough bus drivers to fill all the bus routes if elementary school kids continue to be able to choose what school they attend.
"This proposal is a loose Band-Aid that will not solve Perry Township transportation issues, quite frankly our children deserve better than a loose Band-Aid," another parent told the board.
Parents weren't the only ones who spoke up. So did a third grader who goes to Rosa Parks Elementary School.
"Other kids may not know what it's like to be separated from your school, but I do," Leanor Formo told the school board.
Formo spent the past two years out of school because she was fighting cancer. Now that she can go back to Rosa Parks, she might not be able to, because she doesn't live within the boundaries of that school.
"What you are doing makes me feel helpless again. I don't want to be scared about starting over," the third grader told the school board.
District officials say students who live within a school boundary get an automatic spot to attend a school.
Next come students who may have already been at a school by choice. If there are any spots available at a school, they'll get the next priority if their parents are willing to provide transportation.
First, they'll have to fill out an application.
"We're really going to try and put those fourth-grade students back in these buildings if their parents want to transport them so they can finish up their elementary school careers there," said Mapes.
Leanor's mom, Aimee, isn't counting on it.
"She's super resilient and I know she'll get through whatever life throws at her because she's survived cancer," she said.
As a parent, though, she said that doesn't make this situation any easier.
In February, the district hopes to start taking applications if students want to stay at their current school. By March, they hope to know which schools students will be attending.