That's what the Bend-La Pine School District used to redraw middle school boundaries.
First, it held public meetings over three months where officials presented three different plans to concerned parents and asked for their input.
The parents gave their opinions and the district boundary committee, unbeknown to the parents, completely disregarded their concerns.
The committee then submitted a fourth, completely different plan, to the district without a single public hearing.
After an outcry, the district relented and let all those parents from the Pine Ridge Elementary School area bellyache for awhile at a public hearing. Even though there was a threat of a lawsuit, the boundary committee still recommended the fourth option to the district.
What reeks about this, is that the Pine Ridge parents will have to drive about five miles from southwest Bend across town o take their kids to Pilot Butte Middle School in northeast Bend.
It makes no sense.
What makes sense is that those closest to Pilot Butte Middle School should've been re-directed to that school.
The west side of Bend, home to Bend's most affluent citizens and the area closest to Pilot Butte, was spared from having to mingle with the unwashed masses at Pilot Butte, an under-performing middle school with a sizable hispanic population. Yes, it's Bend's closest thing to inner-city.
So, there you have it. The school district looking out for its most vocal critics on Bend's west side while giving the finger to the suckers in southwest Bend.
Here's hoping that someone from the Pine Ridge Elementary area does sue the district and brings some common sense to this absurd boundary change.
This was clearly a pre-determined outcome on the part of the Superindent from the very beginning, by intentionally excluding Pine Ridge parents from the committee. When it became clear that the parents started to rally together, they stopped communicating with the parents altogether. There was never even a vote at the end, just the one option to ship off the poor kids and the vote was to "obtain a consensus" on the one option. This district has been running without a leash for far too long. The only recourse parents have is to file a formal complaint with the district (about the district). I know where that will go.
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