Public urges review of out‑of‑district enrollment after lawmaker cites hundreds of requests

A Lewiston resident raised questions at public comment about how Lewiston Public Schools authorizes out‑of‑district enrollment and whether the process is sufficiently transparent.

At the March 2 meeting, David Rack Mills (Ward One) said he had received written responses from the superintendent describing at least three permitted reasons for out‑of‑district placement — enrollment balancing, specialized programming and staff dependents — and that the superintendent’s reply said the district had received "over 450 requests this year for out of district placement," which Mr. Mills estimated could be nearly 20% of the K–6 population.

Mr. Mills said the district’s public policy on transfers is only a few sentences and lacks a clear public application process, selection criteria or a breakdown of how many requests were approved, denied or fall into particular categories. "My concern is that this process is not clearly defined for the public," he said, urging the committee to review documents in a way that preserves student privacy while allowing public confidence that the policy is applied equitably.

Superintendent Jake Lang and committee members acknowledged records exist and that the administration had already produced some responses to Mr. Mills. Members said they would follow up to ensure a staff review and that appropriate public information could be made available, with privacy safeguards for students and families.

What’s next: Committee members asked administration to review the records and return with a clear explanation of current practice and options for improving transparency and access to application materials so the public can understand how transfer requests are processed and how equity is ensured.