By Carolyn Cole/Staff Writer

Tina Merry calls Mustang Valley Elementary her second home.

An alum herself, the mother of six raised five children through the school with the sixth about to enter fifth-grade. But under the Mustang School District’s proposed elementary redistricting plan, Merry’s youngest would finish elementary school at Mustang Elementary.

“It’s just frustrating — now all of a sudden all of these new people are building all of these new houses,” she told school officials at a recent meeting. “They are getting to have the school we thought -- my children would get to go to. That is important when you’ve lived in a town all of your life.”

Merry’s concern is common among parents that could be affected by an elementary school redistricting proposal, said Jim Burkey, Mustang schools bond projects director. Mustang School Board is expected to consider the redistricting proposal Jan. 8, which would move hundreds of elementary school students into different facilities as the district opens a new school at 700 S. Czech Hall Road in Mustang in August.

The new school is expected to open with at least 550 students, with about 520 elementary age children living within its proposed boundaries as the plan was written. Boundaries will shift at all five existing elementary schools relieving pressure from classrooms bursting at the seams with student population growth.

• For Mustang Creek Elementary, which now has over 801 students in attendance, the new redistricting plan calls for new boundaries that include 690 elementary students.
• Lakehoma Elementary, with 778 this fall, has about 525 students living within its proposed new boundaries.
• Mustang Elementary, which had 682 students this fall, would have about 518 elementary students living within the proposed boundaries.
• The plan’s boundaries for Mustang Valley Elementary, which had 671 students in attendance this fall, includes about 486 students, allowing room for more children as new neighborhoods expand along County Line Road. Burkey said because of a recently installed 44-inch water line on County Line Road, he expects the school to see the greatest amount of growth in the next few years.
• Mustang Trails Elementary had 645 students in attendance this fall. About 660 students live within the school’s proposed boundaries.

“These numbers aren’t accurate, they change every day, just like enrollment,” Burkey said. “Kids come in, kids go out.”

Mustang Valley parents told Burkey they are worried about how their children will adapt to a new school and new classmates. He said those are common fears he’s heard district-wide as he’s explained the proposed plan to parent groups.

“I understand, and in some ways it makes me feel good — that type of loyalty to a particular school,” he said.

In drawing the proposed boundaries, a committee made up of administrators and about 20 parents considered student population estimates, developer plans to build more than 5,000 homes in the area and possible bus routes, Burkey said.

Canadian Estates resident Greg Wood asked why his neighborhood and those in east Mustang were moved to Mustang Elementary’s boundaries, while the Bitter Creek and Edna Terrace neighborhoods remained at Mustang Valley, under the proposed plan. Debbie Braxton, who served on the committee, explained the boundary was drawn to solve a bus route efficiency problem.

“It had absolutely nothing to do with money,” she said.

Wood said he wasn’t satisfied with the explanation, accusing the committee of corralling homes with higher property values into the Mustang Valley boundaries.

“Driving a block isn’t enough reason to change a whole area,” he said.

Economic data wasn’t made available to redistricting committee members, Burkey said. The committee did consider Mustang city limits in drawing the proposed boundaries, he added. Each school must have Oklahoma City resident students to qualify for MAPS for Kids funds, which the district has spent more than $6 million to buy land, technology, flooring, roofing, school buses and other needs.

Another parent Billy Cobb, who lives near County Line Road and state Highway 152, said he’s worried about his children’s safety at Mustang Elementary, as well as the quality of education they will receive at the other school.

“I’ve lived here since 1973, everybody hears the stuff; everybody knows the class of kids is different,” he said. “The apartment kids’ class is different. That’s just a fact of it.”

As far as quality of education, Burkey told parents teachers at all schools are working to align the curriculum. Recent Academic Performance Index scores, which take into account test scores and attendance, showed a range of 70 points on a 1500- scale between Mustang’s elementary schools: Mustang Valley Elementary, 1,405; Mustang Trails Elementary, 1,385; Lakehoma Elementary, 1,355; Mustang Creek Elementary, 1,339; and Mustang Elementary; 1,333. The state average for 2006 is 1,180.

“The continuity in our education program is second to none,” Burkey said.

Assistant Principal Ginger Pebworth, who was transferred from Mustang Elementary to Mustang Valley this year, urged parents to give the school a chance.

“I know the staff there — they are excellent teachers,” she said. “They care about your kids; I don’t know where that perception comes from.”

Burkey said he heard the same concerns from other parents districtwide, in addition to worries about children making new friends. The district is working to address concerns about jostling next fall’s fifth-graders twice, he said.

Mustang School Board members are expected to consider a plan to “grandfather” in next fall’s fifth-graders, allowing them to receive an automatic in-district transfer to their existing school. However, under the proposal, parents would be responsible for children’s transportation, Burkey said, since the district doesn’t provide bus service to transfer students.

Merry said as a working mother, seeking the transfer would require her family to rely on friends to get her child to and from school.

“It’s a hardship on us too, a family of six, it works both ways,” she said.

For other children, Pebworth said parents could apply for an in-district transfer.

“The downside is you may not know until two days before school starts,” she said.

Canadian Estates resident Jan Morrow said she feels stuck as a working mother and is unable to transport her child to school if the transfer was approved.

“Is there anything we can do or is it too late?” she asked.

Burkey told parents they can voice concerns during the public participation portion of January school board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Mustang Education Center.