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Committee questions weighted lotteries, statute for cooperative high schools in school-assignment policy
Summary
Committee members debated proposed language in Policy 4150 on lottery assignments after staff warned that statutory requirements for Cooperative Innovative High Schools limit how the district can change weighting. The committee moved an amended version to the full board but left the broader policy under committee review for further work.
The New Hanover County Schools Policy Committee examined proposed changes to Policy 4150, the district's lottery and school-assignment plan, including language barring weighted preferences and whether that prohibition should exclude Cooperative Innovative High Schools that state statute directs to "target" at-risk students.
The discussion matters because the district's lottery rules determine student access to magnet and year-round schools. Committee members debated fairness, statutory compliance and whether the district should use targeted outreach or explicit weighted lotteries to prioritize at-risk students.
Superintendent Dr. Barnes provided the committee with the relevant state statute for the Cooperative Innovative High School program and explained that those programs use a rubric and slot system to enroll students who meet target criteria, including students at risk of dropping out. "The rubric is about the number of seats and where you fall on the rubric," the superintendent said, describing the Cooperative Innovative High School process as distinct from the district's elementary lotteries.
Committee members discussed the district's current tiered lottery process for some year-round elementary schools: sibling preference, underrepresented zip code (28401), family income and parent education, then a main bucket for remaining applicants. One board member objected to using demographic proxies in place of individual assessment and said, "I don't care about statistics. I care about individual children," during the discussion.
After debate, the committee voted to move an amended version of Policy 4150 to the full board while also agreeing to keep the broader item in committee for additional work. The committee chair asked that a parallel policy be drafted so the board could treat Cooperative Innovative High Schools and the district's elementary lottery schools separately if needed.
Next steps include legal review of the statute cited by staff (115C-238.50 was referenced in the discussion) and work by board members and staff to draft a parallel elementary policy or clearer language distinguishing Cooperative Innovative High School admissions from elementary lottery procedures.
