Laguna school boundaries may be on the move

Suzie Harrison

Where you draw the line is the complicated question parents of

children in the Laguna Beach School District have been contemplating

lately.

The school board is working toward a solution for the upcoming

boundary change they feel is necessary to balance the number of students

at El Morro and Top of the World elementary schools.

El Morro’s projections for next year’s enrollment are 465 students.

Top of the World expects 720. The El Morro campus has just been expanded

and has the room to alleviate the overflow at Top of the World.

The idea of changing boundaries has led to a number of questions,

suggestions, opinions and speculation, creating a tug of war between

parents and officials.

The district has held seven meetings for the parents to attend and

give their input. They have also had meetings with both schools’ Parent,

Teacher Associations to gather information.

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Supt. Theresa Daem and the

project committee narrowed the options. One is the transfer of all

kindergarten, first- and second-grade Aliso Viejo students, many of whom

currently attend Top of the World, to El Morro. Another is the transfer

of all kindergarten students from Top of the World to El Morro.

A new option was added, due to parental input -- to move all fifth

graders to El Morro.

There was a packed house of parents at Tuesday’s meeting waiting to

find out if Daem had a recommendation. At the previous meeting on May 14,

Daem, board members, Top of the World principal Ron LaMott and El Morro

principal Joanne Culverhouse said they would need more time to research

the matter.

“Since the last meeting we have taken significant steps toward

arriving at a solution and have compiled hundreds of letters and faxes

we’ve received with your input.

“Parent comments have added to the research and are being taken very

seriously, as we’ve re-examined the options with the parents,” said Daem.

As parents spoke at the public forum, strong feelings were expressed.

Many said they wanted more time to give their input before the June 11

decision.

“The parents want to make sure everyone in the community knows what’s

going on, and I am not sure most of Laguna knows. By definition there has

to be a mathematical way of adjusting the boundaries, their answers

weren’t satisfactory. You don’t divide neighborhoods up,” said North

Laguna parent Larry King.

An e-mail petition was started by the parents on Wednesday following

the board meeting. The board concluded that they believe they will have a

recommendation by the next meeting on June 11, but many parents said they

want the board to postpone their decision.