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Committee reviews Manchester school choice options and MST admissions process
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Randstad outlined Manchester School District policies for school assignment and the manifest educational hardship process, and the principal of Manchester School of Technology described the MST application deadline and lottery for oversubscribed classes.
The Legislation & Education Committee on Jan. 15 discussed school assignment policy in Manchester and how families may request placement outside geographic attendance zones.
Assistant Superintendent Randstad said Manchester does not operate an open school-choice system: assignments are "based on geographic and address-based location." Randstad described the district's manifest educational hardship policy (Policy 104) as the primary route for families seeking assignment to a school outside their attendance zone and said that requests must be made in writing and state reasons that meet the hardship standard. "Transportation remains the responsibility of the family" when special permission is granted, Randstad said.
Committee members also discussed the Manchester School of Technology (MST) as an exception to purely geography-based assignments. "We have Manchester School of Technology, which is not... based on geography," a committee member said, noting MST has a limited number of seats and an application process for incoming freshmen.
The principal of MST, present at the meeting, described the high school application timeline and selection method: applications were due Feb. 14 this year, and if applications exceed capacity a lottery (a blind draw) is used with an effort to allocate 25 seats to each middle school feeder to promote equity. "We try to allocate 25 seats to each middle school so we have equality that way," the principal said. The principal added that the CTE center accepts some out-of-district students and that the district has recently been able to accommodate most applicants, though some programs such as cosmetology may require applicants to switch programs when oversubscribed.
Committee members asked about wait-list procedures and how out-of-town applicants are prioritized; the principal said waiting lists vary year to year and that out-of-town students are generally accommodated for CTE programs.
Ending: The committee said it will compile a list of bills to track and encouraged attendance at the HB 115 hearing. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that was seconded by Committee member Spillers and approved by voice vote.
