Upper East Side School Rezoning: Make Your Voice Heard
New York City Department of Education (DOE) will soon be submitting a plan to redraw the boundaries of our local public school zones. This rezoning will determine where children in Community Board 8 will attend elementary school.
For the past several years, the number of children zoned for East Side schools has been greater than the number of seats available, resulting in waitlists and school overcrowding. Redrawing of school zone lines is essential to creating zones with more evenly distributed students.
Before this plan is finalized, the District 2 Community Education Council (CEC) needs input from parents with children not yet enrolled in school, because these children will be most directly impacted by the rezoning.
In 2009, the CEC postponed rezoning for the Upper East Side because they felt that they did not have enough information to make an informed decision. The CEC will be holding public hearings in the coming months on the zoning proposal that they receive from the DOE.
I strongly urge parents to attend the District 2 CEC rezoning meeting in early November, where the Division of Portfolio Planning will be presenting their zoning proposal. (Date and location will be announced shortly. Please check the CEC website at http://www.cecd2.net ). There will be time for public comment where parents can voice their questions and concerns. I also suggest that parents attend Community Board 8's Youth and Education Committee Meeting on Monday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m. at the New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street. Please email my office at kellnerm@assembly.state.ny.us if you would like to receive updates on Upper East Side school rezoning.