A message was from School District of Lee County personnel to parents during a Facebook Live discussion was loud and clear: participate, make your voice heard during the elementary school open enrollment period.

“Participation is key,” Office of the Superintendent Coordinator Dr. Adam Molloy said. “That is your key, to participate in the enrollment process. You have to participate. Our percentages that got their first and second choice are always very high for those who participated. You have to take action and you have to participate if you’re outside of the zone, or an incoming kindergarten family.”

The change in the proximity zones had to take place as the district had to put emphasis on the classroom and school buildings and not on the buses, he said.

“We hit the 3,000 students late every single day and it was only going to get worse. We had to do something now if we wanted to improve,” Molloy said.

The deadline for elementary open enrollment is 4 p.m. Friday, March 10.

District Spokesperson Rob Spicker said the new elementary proximity zones require parents to take action.

“If your student is at a school that is out of your new zone, you need to let us know if you want that child to stay there with the understanding that you are going to provide transportation, or you have to decide to enter into the lottery for a school closer to home,” he said. “If you are in one of the schools that is in your attendance area and you like that school you don’t have to take any action. But if you are interested in that attendance zone of changing schools you do need to enter into the lottery.”

There were a couple of themes and questions that were prevalent during the discussion, some of which included ESE students.

The first question pertained to if a child is in ESE and the school is now out of their attendance zone, are they able to remain and still be able to get transportation.

Exceptional Student Education Assistant Director Scott Kozlowski said if there is a student that is either in a special class, or special program, especially those self-contained units, then yes they will stay at their current school and still receive transportation.

“Self-contained, or special program, something that is on the campus that is not available anywhere else,” he said.

The ESE students have been pre-placed into their current school of enrollment, so no action is needed. A parent can change their student into a school within their new proximity zone, if they wish.

If that ESE student has another sibling in the same school, they would not be able to use the transportation.

Another question asked if bus transportation would still be available to daycare.

Molloy said stops outside of a residential address can be added, as long as it is on an existing route, or stop. He said within the proximity zones themselves, yes, potentially that could be used.

“You will see a reduction of those existing stops and routes,” Molloy said.

In addition, he said students who live within the two-mile radius of their school are considered in a safe walk zone and transportation is not available. Molloy said out of the two-mile walk zone transportation will be provided.

Another question stemmed around what happens if a student is out of their current school zone and no action is taken, what will happen for their placement next year.

“They will be reassigned within their proximity zone without their ranking, or their choice,” Molloy said. “That is why it is so important within this enrollment period that if you are going into your proximity zone for transportation, you are a rising kindergartner, that you make sure you fill out those forms. You go into your Parent Portal. You make those rankings because you will be reassigned.”

Student Enrollment Executive Director Soretta Ralph said she hopes parents have already registered their child for kindergarten, as registration began in October.

“That will give us a better idea of how many students we have coming into the district and be able to allocate spaces at the schools,” she said. “They will be assigned with their siblings. That assignment, if it has not already occurred as a pre-placement, then the assignment will be occurring before the lottery has run.”

For those incoming kindergarten students that do not have a sibling and have not yet registered they may not have a chance of ranking the schools in their choice if they wait past March 10.

The last questions dealt with parents opting to grandfather their child into their current school, agreeing they will provide their own transportation.

Molloy said once they submit their grandfathering form, or choice application they are set.

“Once you have submitted it in your Parent Portal you are good to go,” he said.

The lottery for school assignments will run around March 20. The plan is to have notification go out to parents of their child’s school by April 1, either via email, or through Parent Portal.

“We will have a wait list if you don’t get your first choice of the school. We will continue to work through the last day of July,” Ralph said.

In addition, a waiver will be available allowing parents to share their unique hardship of why they need a different school.