BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Panama-Buena Vista School Board will vote on changes to attendance boundary lines Tuesday night that could potentially move about 1,500 kids to different schools. Parents upset by the proposal are asking other parents to sign a petition before the meeting.
District officials say the boundary changes are needed to balance out school populations. Monday afternoon, parents gathered outside Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, voicing their opposition to the plan and looking for others to join them.
Kasey Paradise said, "That's just going to screw his experience up. He's going to be in 6th grade. He wants to enjoy the opportunities that he had here."
"They've been here since kindergarten and my oldest is in 6th grade and my youngest is in 3rd. So she'll be in fourth next year and he'll obviously go to Tevis, it would be difficult," said Lorrie Olivarez.
Parents signed a petition asking the school board to decline a proposal that would change the attendance boundaries of 14 district schools. The plan would move about eight-percent of students to different schools.
District officials say while they understand it's a sensitive issue, the change is needed.
Assistant Superintendent Gerrie Kincaid said, "We're at a critical stage where we really have to redistribute our enrollment to places where we do have room. We have a handful of schools that have plenty of room, they're underutilized and we need to fully utilize those schools and bring a balance here."
Still, many parents don't agree with the district's solution to the overcrowding problem.
Olivarez said, "I don't think it should change. I think that whatever they're trying to do they should work out in another way and I get that other schools are over populated, but don't make these kids move."
The school board will vote on the proposal Tuesday at 7pm at the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District offices on Ashe Road. If the plan is approved, the new boundaries will go into effect at the beginning of the school year in August.
While the parents collected signatures, no one showed support for the plan.
District officials say the boundary changes are needed to balance out school populations. Monday afternoon, parents gathered outside Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, voicing their opposition to the plan and looking for others to join them.
Kasey Paradise said, "That's just going to screw his experience up. He's going to be in 6th grade. He wants to enjoy the opportunities that he had here."
"They've been here since kindergarten and my oldest is in 6th grade and my youngest is in 3rd. So she'll be in fourth next year and he'll obviously go to Tevis, it would be difficult," said Lorrie Olivarez.
Parents signed a petition asking the school board to decline a proposal that would change the attendance boundaries of 14 district schools. The plan would move about eight-percent of students to different schools.
District officials say while they understand it's a sensitive issue, the change is needed.
Assistant Superintendent Gerrie Kincaid said, "We're at a critical stage where we really have to redistribute our enrollment to places where we do have room. We have a handful of schools that have plenty of room, they're underutilized and we need to fully utilize those schools and bring a balance here."
Still, many parents don't agree with the district's solution to the overcrowding problem.
Olivarez said, "I don't think it should change. I think that whatever they're trying to do they should work out in another way and I get that other schools are over populated, but don't make these kids move."
The school board will vote on the proposal Tuesday at 7pm at the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District offices on Ashe Road. If the plan is approved, the new boundaries will go into effect at the beginning of the school year in August.
While the parents collected signatures, no one showed support for the plan.