The public should know about the injustice done to the 12 families that followed protocol handed down by the school board regarding the process of admittance into Normal Park pre-k for the 2010 school year. We feel that some major points are being left out.

Families called in a year ago for the 2010 school year and have paid the required deposit. They were guaranteed spots into the pre-k program that would also guarantee them to be grandfathered into Normal Park through eighth grade. The school board voted on Thursday to end the pre-k program but to allow these 12 families to pay for pre-k, but they would have to reapply through the lottery for admittance into the school beyond that point.

This has now left these families in a horrible situation, allowing them to pay the high price for the pre-k but not honoring the agreements to be grandfathered into the school. Many families are now left with no choice but to pay for the expensive pre-k tuition because at this stage all other pre-k programs are full. We feel that since there is still room for our families, including the 38 people from the Hill City neighborhood we should not lose our spots and reapply again through the lottery. This is completely unfair since we were promised spots for the past year and followed the process for admittance that was handed down by the board in 2005.

A promise was made to the Hill City neighborhood and then broken. The compromise was to allow 38 students (plus others who filed papers yesterday) in from that neighborhood under a one-time agreement.

A promise was made to us and then broken, and the compromise for us was to kick us out. This is not fair. We started the "lottery" process by calling the school May 1, 2009 which is the process the school board approved unanimously in 2005. This was essentially a lottery process because it depended on the luck of getting through with a phone call.

The enrollment Jill Levine quoted of 834 includes our 12 kindergarten slots. We are sympathetic with the Hill City residents and we are happy that they will now have an opportunity to send their children to Normal Park. There is room for our 12 children as well. We were already promised spots with a process that your board approved unanimously. I understand discontinuing this practice, but it is unreasonable to kick us out when we have thought for a year that we didn't need a plan B.

There is room for the Hill City students and our 12 students. Most of the Hill City students will be in the Upper school, we are not competing for their slots.

We will be bring this to the board in April.

Courtney Altfillisch

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Ms. Altfillisch,
I want you to know that Hill City discussions were solely focused on the School Board keeping their 2007 commitment. They broke a promise to Hill City. And they broke a promise to you.

The plain fact is that Normal Park has a capacity of 960 students – more than enough space for your group and the Hill City Community. People have been quoting lower numbers. That is because space is being reserved for art rooms, computer labs and so forth. But these things aren’t necessary.

In fact, there is space to build new rooms for these projects. So there is no resistance from our side on your wishes.

In fact, we share the pain you feel. And we hope you can understand our pain too.

Charles Bikas

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Mr. Bikas,
Thank you so much for your response. As a member of one of the 12 families, I definitely understand your pain. While I am happy that some students in your community can now attend Normal Park, I think your community should be fully zoned for Normal Park. A promise is a promise. And I agree that there is enough room for everyone from your group and ours.

These 12 families followed the protocol approved unanimously by the school board in 2005 to get their children admitted to kindergarten at Normal Park. The pre-kindergarten program was only a vehicle for admission - no different from buying a house in the zone or getting selected through the magnet lottery process. We couldn't afford to buy a house in the zone and we have made sacrifices to save for the pre-kindergarten program.

I understand why admission into kindergarten from the pre-kindergarten program needs to end. But it is completely unreasonable for the board to not compromise with the 12 families who started the admissions process (essentially a lottery process by phone) on May 1, 2009. I think it is only fair to begin with the May 1, 2010 admission/lottery date which affects the 2011-2012 pre-kindergarten school year.

The solution should be prospective rather than retrospective - all students who have already been guaranteed spots in kindergarten should be allowed to fill these spots.

We intend to ask the board for a compromise for these 12 families at the April 22 board meeting.

Brent Goldberg
Chattanooga
bgold17@hotmail.com