Stratford committee approves shifting Flex Zone and sets limited waiver, grandfathering rules

The Stratford School District redistricting committee voted to reassign the Flex Zone cohort of roughly 25 secondary students so those students will move from the Worcester/Stratford High track to Flood/Benel. Committee members said the change is intended to reduce a current middle-school enrollment imbalance and bring utilization closer to parity across schools.

The committee’s discussion cited grade-level counts provided by district staff: the pocket includes multiple grades (the staff summary enumerated roughly 15 fifth-graders, 21 fourth-graders, 18 third-graders, 15 second-graders and 16 first-graders in the area under consideration). Staff said the 25-student shift would reduce a middle-school difference of about 62 students down toward the low teens while producing only modest changes at the high-school level.

Susan Hughes, a district staff member who provided the counts and utilization figures, told the committee the consultant’s original study emphasized spatial (square-foot) utilization, which produced different recommendations than neighborhood-level observations. Hughes also said moving the Flex Zone cohort would not create a transportation impact because existing bus routes and stops already serve those neighborhoods.

The panel followed with a second motion to establish a limited waiver process for a small sliver of students currently assigned to the Franklin zone but routed to Chapel. Under the policy the committee approved, those families may request a waiver to enroll in Franklin or a nearer school if space permits; waivers would be granted by superintendent discretion through a lottery. The committee asked that the waiver mechanics — including an August 15 deadline for applications — be finalized by the policy committee and that families be notified once the full board acts.

Committee members emphasized the waiver is narrowly targeted. "This is only for those 22 or so students who are being shipped farther away," one member said, urging that the waiver not be generalized beyond the affected pocket. Staff clarified that the waiver could be requested in perpetuity for an individual student if space remained available, and that when a school reaches capacity the district follows a sequence (Nichols, Seconde, Chapel) to place students.

The committee also adopted a grandfathering approach for existing high-school students. Current 9th–11th graders who opt to remain will be allowed to stay at their present high school through graduation; the committee said the grandfathering expires naturally as students graduate and is intended to limit disruption to sports, extracurriculars and college pathways. Members discussed sibling rules and decided families could request that younger siblings join older siblings’ tracks in limited circumstances, but cautioned against policies that would prolong redistricting effects indefinitely.

Acting Superintendent (title as stated in the meeting) thanked committee participants and said the district will emphasize careful transition planning: principals will be asked to notify families, hold information nights and coordinate step-up meetings for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The Acting Superintendent and staff said IEP services will follow students and that, when necessary, the district will use the PPT process or case-by-case adjustments to ensure continuity of services.

All three recommendations — the redistricting shift, the limited waiver/lottery policy with an August 15 deadline, and grandfathering for current high-school students — were forwarded to the full Stratford School District board and were recorded as approved by the committee in roll-call votes. The committee indicated it expects the board to consider the recommendations later this month and asked staff to begin communications with principals and affected families in the interim.