Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Boundaries topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Manitowoc board tables petition to shift five properties into district pending neighboring district decision
Summary
A petition to redraw district boundaries so one student could remain in Manitowoc schools was tabled until a neighboring district acts; board cited legal limits and open-enrollment caps for students with IEPs.
The Manitowoc Public School District board on Tuesday tabled a petition from a family asking that five border properties be moved into Manitowoc’s attendance boundaries so their child could continue in the district’s special-education program.
Petitioner Len Kapelman spoke to the board about his son’s history in Manitowoc schools and asked the board to annex the parcel that contains the family’s home in order to maintain stability for the student. District staff told the board the petition affects five properties along the district line and that the neighboring Valder’s Area School District has indicated it will recommend denying the request when it takes it up on Feb. 24.
Board members and staff said Wisconsin law requires both districts’ boards to agree to boundary changes and that open-enrollment rules and seat allocations for students with individualized education programs limit the district’s ability to make case-by-case exceptions. The superintendent noted the district recently set caps on open enrollment for students with IEPs and said making a one-off exception could expose the district to litigation and pressure to change the cap uniformly.
Board members asked whether there were other options to avoid a boundary change, including placing the family on an open-enrollment waiting list, giving priority to long-term residents or employees if space is available, or requesting a DPI (Department of Public Instruction) clarification about seat allocations. Staff said priority rules exist for wait lists (siblings, long-term residents) and that DPI rules might allow limited discretion but would need to be checked.
A motion to table the petition until after Valder’s takes up the request passed. The board said it will revisit the item at a special meeting scheduled to follow Valder’s action and noted an appeals process is available to petitioners if a district denies the request.
The board and staff emphasized they had sympathy for the family’s request but said a unilateral boundary change is not possible without the neighboring district’s agreement and that any exception to open-enrollment caps risks opening the policy to legal challenge and additional requests.
