A couple of things I left out.  Because Riverchase wanted to go to the new middle school, that left only Shades Mountain and Green Valley to go to Berry.  That left too small of a middle school population to "field strong sports teams" and band, etc.  Shifting Bluff Park and Green Valley to Berry was discussed, but then that meant that the Trace Crossings community would have to shift north to Simmons....taking them out of their "neighborhood school".  
 
It was discussed that old Berry could stay open and have Green Valley track back into Hoover while Shades Mountain went on to Spain Park.  That didn't meet the community-identified value of keeping kids together as they track from school to school.
 
It was discussed to have Shades Mountain move back into Simmons and Hoover High.  But the Shades Mountain parents that were vocal at the time wouldn't stand for that.  They absolutely did NOT want to go to Hoover High.   They wanted to keep Berry open.  Shades Mountain contributes 150 students to a middle school.  That simply was not enough students to warrant keeping Berry open.  
 
It was discussed to have Shades Mountain and Rocky Ridge continue to go to Berry.  But, the demographics didn't work because it was basically segregating the lower-income students into Berry and the higher-income students into the new middle school.  Adding Green Valley to that mix wouldn't have changed the demographics, either.
 
Keeping Riverchase zoned to old Berry meant that they were taken out of their "neighborhood school"....which happened to them once already when they were the half of Trace Crossings that got moved to Berry in the first place. ....but the new middle school was deemed closer and more neighborly than old Berry.
 
The only people that Berry was a "neighbor" to that were currently zoned there were the Shades Mountain folks.  And they just didn't contribute enough students to warrant keeping Berry open.  Had Shades Mountain been as big as say, Deer Valley, that contributes 400 students to middle school, it might be different.  But they weren't.
 
So please don't be confused as to why old Berry was closed.  It was not, as stated last night, because "the other side of town didn't want to drive to it".  It was not, as stated last night, because it was "old".  It was closed because the zoning structure that would require it to stay open did not fit with the Community Values that had come forth in the Focus Groups.  That's all.
 
I wonder if those same Community Values hold true today.  Or are we willing to throw each other under the bus as long as "our children" aren't affected.

As interest...there is someone on the "other forum" that i think is saying that "most of old Hoover" would rather attend old Berry as their high school!  Post 5815.2.2.2  The problem may be solved if that is true!!

It will be interesting to see what he says at the Berry meeting...I bet it won't be that!  I think the new Berry was built partly because of that reason (so maybe that's what he meant).  But I think when they built the new Berry they didn't intend on shutting down old Berry.  He seems to have lost that in the discussion last night and that's too bad because a room full of people went home thinking that.  The old Berry was supposed to stay open with GV moving there - remember?  I guess he didn't want to point that out last night to that audience.  They didn't want to be there and that's why it had to close when you get down to it.  I don't guess any of that matters now.

Quote from HSCIN on 02/05/08 at 4:28pm:

 
A question and a little Devil's Advocate here - if Bluff Park had been rezoned to SP at this time would we still be having this current rezoning discussion? SP would be closer or at capacity and HHS would be several hundred students less, maybe even allowing enough room for the Freshmen to attend.  

Quote from HSCIN on 02/05/08 at 4:28pm:

 
I have a lot of friends that worked very hard in Bluff Park on the rezoning, why do they owe Green Valley?  

i agree that GV spoke up for what they wanted and "got a seat at the table".  But is that what is best for the whole community?  Once you let one group decide what is best for them then you have to listen to other areas also and give them a "seat at the table".  I agree with most of what HCSIN but not this time.  That last comment really exposes a self-serving aspect to your viewpoint and (unusally) not for the good of all people.

Birmingham News (AL)
Team begins developing ideas for redrawing zones  
 
December 22, 2004  
Section: COMMUNITY NEWS  
Edition: HOOVER  
Page: 3-H  
   JON ANDERSON News staff writer  
A 20-person community planning team has developed 25 ideas for redrawing school attendance zones for Hoover City Schools.  
 
The team of parents, which held its first two meetings last week, hasn't yet come up with specific strategies or recommendations. Instead, it began by developing 25 broad concepts to consider when rezoning.
 
The concepts include ideas such as optimizing transportation costs, accommodating as many students as possible in existing schools, building new schools in areas where growth is occurring and allowing students to stay in a particular school once they start there.
 
The community planning team will reconvene Jan. 4 to determine which of its concepts best match the community values identified by focus groups and prioritized by a survey of Hoover parents.
 
Then, in at least two more meetings, the team will come up with more specific strategies for rezoning. Hoover schools Superintendent Connie Williams said she will consider the planning team's work when making a recommendation to the Hoover Board of Education.
 
The school board must vote on any school zone changes, and its decision is subject to review by the U.S. Department of Justice.
 
Williams told the planning team she has heard the speculation that a rezoning decision already has been made and that the formation of a community planning team is a sham.
 
''That is simply not true,'' Williams said. ''I simply cannot fathom asking the 20 of you to put in this kind of time and effort for something that's just a sham . . . Let me assure you that I value your input.''
 
Williams said she truly hasn't made up her mind about the best action plan. She expects to recommend the top choice of the community planning team but reserves the right to disagree, she said.
 
Earl Cooper, a team member with children at Bumpus Middle School and Hoover High, said he appreciates the opportunity to be involved in decision-making. ''The empowerment to make this decision is huge,'' Cooper said.
 
School board member Joe Dean observed the planning team's first meeting and made a few comments when the idea of selling Berry Middle School was discussed. Dean said school officials didn't think selling Berry was wise because the amount of money they would get wouldn't make up for the money invested in renovations at Berry in recent years.
 
At the second meeting, several team members said they didn't want Dean's comments to keep the planning team from considering selling Berry.
 
''We've got a clean slate as far as I'm concerned,'' said Laura Lowe, a parent at Simmons Middle School. ''This is a clean,  
fresh start.''
 
Sammy Harris, a parent at Green Valley Elementary, said he has a hard time believing that being fiscally responsible is the most important concern parents have about rezoning. While that's important, it's not the most important, he said.
 
A survey of 309 Hoover parents indicated differently. The parents were asked to rate 24 community values related to rezoning on a scale of one to seven, with seven being the most important.
 
The value of being fiscally responsible and spending money wisely scored highest, at 6.816. About 90 percent of survey respondents gave the fiscal responsibility value a score of seven.
 
Lynn Thomas, a parent at Bumpus Middle School and Hoover High, said that being fiscally responsible doesn't necessarily mean choosing the cheapest zoning solution.
 
The survey of Hoover parents also indicated that:
 
-- Sixty-four percent of parents would prefer for their child to attend a larger school with more programs and activities than a smaller school close to their home, if they had to choose between the two options.
 
-- Seventy-nine percent chose to live in Hoover because of the quality of schools.
 
-- Fifty-one percent ''definitely'' chose the location of their home specifically so their child could attend a particular school with the Hoover system.
 
-- Fifty-four percent believe the quality of Hoover schools is excellent; 38 percent rated them very good, while 7 percent said good and 1 percent said fair.
 
-- Sixty-five percent said the issue of rezoning is ''very important'' to their family, while 19 percent said it is ''somewhat important,'' 10 percent said ''not very important'' and 7 percent said ''not at all important.''
 
Zoning concepts
 
A community planning team made up of Hoover parents developed this list of ideas to be considered as school officials redraw school attendance zones. The planning team will further evaluate each concept to see how well it meets community values identified by focus groups and a survey of parents. More specific zoning strategies will be developed in January.
 
Optimize transportation costs.
 
Optimize use of existing facilities.
 
Build new facilities where growth is occurring.
 
If possible, allow students to remain at particular schools once they have started there.
 
Implement zoning changes at transitions from elementary to middle school or middle to high school.
 
Zoning plan must fit into school system's budget, considering costs such as construction and operations.
 
Meet current Hoover standards for student-teacher ratios.
 
Open new schools with adequate number of students to provide as many programs (academic and extracurricular) as possible and make them cost-effective to operate.
 
Maximize construction dollars for instructional benefit.
 
Design facilities so they can be expanded to accommodate growth.
 
Build schools close to communities, centrally located (especially at elementary level).
 
Consider the impact of traffic when locating schools.
 
Create a zoning plan with a long-range vision and update it at regular intervals.
 
Develop a model school (size, curriculum, etc.) to guide future facility decisions.
 
Offer the same variety of classes at all schools.
 
Do zoning changes in a manner that encourages continued financial support from the community.
 
Provide academic/instructional support
 
services at every school to meet the needs of all students.
 
Use a cost/benefit approach to decisions about renovation and replacement of existing facilities.
 
Establish a minimum radius from a school within which students will be assured of being zoned to that school.
 
Consider a maximum travel time from home to school (relative to grade level).
 
Locate schools where they can be reached via secondary roads.
 
Avoid splitting a school to multiple uppergrade schools (students from one elementary being split between two middle schools).
 
Have similar racial diversity at all schools.
 
Have similar economic diversity at all schools.
 
When possible, maintain a balance of students from single-family homes and multifamily homes at each school.
 
Source: Hoover City Schools' Community Planning Team  
 
 
 

Birmingham News (AL)
Hoover schools draw 20 names for planning team on rezoning Hoover schools pick team for rezoning effort  
 
December 2, 2004  
Section: COMMUNITY NEWS  
Page: 3-B  
   JON ANDERSON News staff writer  
Hoover school officials on Wednesday drew the names of 20 parents who will serve on a community planning team that will develop ideas for redrawing school attendance zones.  
 
The names were drawn from among 74 parents nominated by the school board, mayor and City Council, Hoover Chamber of Commerce, parent groups and the community.
 
The team is charged with developing scenarios for drawing new school zones for Hoover's middle and high schools - a hot topic in Hoover this year.
 
Parents on the team have children at six of the nine elementary schools in Hoover, all three middle schools and both high schools. The only schools without parents on the team are Greystone, Rocky Ridge and Trace Crossings elementaries.
 
Each school's parent group was able to nominate someone, but not all of them were drawn from the pool of 74 nominees.
 
Parents from all Hoover schools are being included in a telephone survey that will determine the importance of various community values related to rezoning.
 
Three focus groups of Hoover parents helped compile a list of 24 values associated with rezoning that are important to parents, such as having schools close to home and keeping academic quality high and studentteacher ratios low.
 
The telephone survey will prioritize those values, and the planning team will evaluate its ideas based on those priorities.
 
Thirty-five parents were nominated by the community at large. The school board nominated 10 parents, and the mayor and City Council together nominated 10. Parent groups nominated 15 people, and the Hoover Chamber of Commerce nominated four.
 
The school board was guaranteed two slots on the team, as were the mayor and City Council. The chamber was guaranteed one slot, and parent groups were guaranteed three positions. Two slots were designated for the community at large.
 
The final 10 names were drawn from a combined pool of nominees.
 
Here are names of team members and the groups that nominated them:
 
City Council nominees: Earl Cooper, Rhonda Diliberto, Kathy Hutcheson, Laura Lowe and Jill Wootten.
 
School board nominees: Keith Clowers, Jennifer Fuller and Shiela Mulkey.
 
Chamber of Commerce nominee: Lynn Thomas.
 
Parent group nominees: Green Valley Elementary parent yet to be named, Cindy Wood (Gwin Elementary), Don Monk (Shades Mountain Elementary), Peggy Powell (South Shades Crest Elementary), Terri Lynn Hosmer (Bumpus Middle) and Lisa Weaver (Simmons Middle).  
 
Community nominees: Jack Brymer, Sandra Hassett, Afif Kanafani, Debbie Smith and Jill Stalnaker.  

Birmingham News (AL)
Parents offer input on key issues for schools  
 
November 17, 2004  
Section: COMMUNITY NEWS  
Edition: HOOVER  
Page: 4-H  
   JON ANDERSON News staff writer  
Hoover parents want their children to go to school close to home and they want academic quality high and student-teacher ratios low.  
 
Those were some of the most common desires stated to school officials last week by 20 Hoover parents selected randomly to participate in focus groups for the city school system.
 
School officials are using the groups, divided into elementary, middle and high school parents, as part of a process to determine and rank community values regarding schools as the system prepares to redraw middle and high school attendance zones.
 
Other community values mentioned during the focus group meetings included: maintaining equity among schools in extra-curricular activities, keeping students together from elementary through high school, and respecting parents' investments in their homes and particular school communities.
 
Parents also said they want school officials to keep in mind such things as test scores, racial and economic diversity, travel safety, parents' school loyalties, school size, aging school buildings, children's social ties, future city growth, parental choice and U.S. Department of Justice guidelines.
 
They also wanted advance notice of school zone changes so they have time to move if they desire.
 
New South Research, which conducted the focus group interviews, now will take the list of community values stated by the parents and survey 300 other Hoover school parents by telephone to prioritize those values. The marketing research firm will ask parents to rank the importance of each value, said Tim Aho, a consultant hired to assist in the rezoning process.
 
Once the values are prioritized, a 20-person community planning team will develop rezoning concepts and scenarios, and test each scenario to see how well it meets the most important community values.
 
Schools Superintendent Connie Williams will use the planning team's work to develop her own rezoning recommendation for the school board to consider. The school board will have the final say, subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Justice.
 
Williams observed the three focus groups last week and said she wasn't surprised by the parents' feelings. ''While there  
were a lot of differences, I think there was an amazing amount of consistency in terms of the things people said were important,'' she said.
 
One new thing she heard was a willingness by some parents to pay more property taxes if it meant their children could somehow stay in their current school zone.
 
Williams said Hoover schools are secure financially and should be able to afford the buildings they need. ''But we want to keep it that way,'' she said. ''I don't want us to go out and add indebtedness and cause that to change.''
 
There are still financial challenges, such as finding money to operate and staff schools once they're built, she said.
 
She said she's concerned about the financial condition for the City of Hoover, which gives 16 percent of its sales tax revenue to the school board for operating expenses. City officials are projecting a slowdown in sales tax growth and deficit spending by 2006.
 
Parents in the focus groups were passionate about the schools their children attend, often saying that was the most important reason they chose to live where they did. One Greystone Elementary mother said her family moved this past summer to keep her children from being rezoned to Rocky Ridge Elementary.
 
She was concerned about lower standardized test scores at Rocky Ridge, she said. ''You've got one chance to educate your kids,'' she said.
 
One woman who lives in an apartment said her family would stay in the apartment until middle and high school zone lines are redrawn. Her family doesn't want to make an investment in a home until lines are set, she said.
 
Rezoning opposition
 
Numerous parents said they believed that once people make an investment in a home and community, they shouldn't be rezoned at all.
 
''He has a plan for his family, and he doesn't want a school board to change it,'' one Green Valley Elementary and Simmons Middle School father commented about another father. ''Don't jerk that out from under him.''
 
The three focus groups included parents from all but four Hoover schools, although New South Research attempted to get representation from throughout the community. Forty-one people agreed to attend the meetings, but only 20 showed up.
 
Eighteen were white, and two were black. Twelve were female, and eight were male. Some had lived in Hoover more than 30 years, while others had been in the city for just a few months. A few lived in an apartment, but most were homeowners. Most  
had a college degree.
 
Two were former school board applicants, one of whom ran unsuccessfully for a council seat this summer.  

Birmingham News (AL)
Board OKs planning team selection  
 
November 2, 2004  
Section: COMMUNITY  
Edition: Editorial Page  
Page: 3-B  
   JON ANDERSON News staff writer  
HOOVER  
 
The Hoover school board on Monday agreed on a process to pick a community planning team that will help devise ways to redraw middle and high school attendance zones.
 
Selection of the 20-member team was a sticking point because some people have expressed concern that some faction in the community might try to control the contentious rezoning process.
 
The school board decided to seek 40 nominations from various groups in Hoover and allow the community at large to nominate team members as well. However, every nominee must be a parent of children in Hoover schools.
 
School board members agreed on a process that will guarantee certain groups representation on the committee, including the mayor and City Council, parent organizations, the Hoover Chamber of Commerce and the school board itself.
 
School board member Tom Defnall said guaranteed representation was important. ''This is a huge decision for our city and our children,'' Defnall said.
 
The school board will nominate 10 people, and the mayor and City Council together can nominate 10 more. The Hoover Chamber of Commerce can nominate five people, and each of Hoover's 15 parent organizations can nominate one person.
 
Ten names will be chosen from among the community-at-large nominations by a random drawing, creating a total pool of 50 nominees.
 
From that group, two names will be drawn randomly from the school board nominees, two names from the mayor and council nominees and two names from the community-at-large nominees.
 
Three names will be drawn from the parent organization nominees and one name from the Chamber of Commerce nominees.
 
That amounts to half of the 20-member team. Names of all the remaining nominees will be put in a combined pool, and 10 will be selected randomly.
 
The planning team will be responsible for developing rezoning scenarios and testing them to see how well they meet community values established by focus groups and prioritized by a telephone poll of Hoover parents.
 
A mathematical formula will be used to test each scenario, and a preferred zoning scenario should emerge, said Tim Aho, a planning consultant hired by the school board. The whole process should take two-and-a-half to three months, Aho said.
 
School board Vice President Bill Veitch said the process may be a good thing, but it may not. It does him no more good than the many public meetings the board held this past spring to discuss rezoning, he said.
 
''I'm not going to give up my responsibility as a school board member,'' Veitch said, noting the final rezoning decision rests with the board.
 
School board President Kay Witt said the board isn't abdicating its responsibility. Superintendent Connie Williams will use the committee's findings to make a recommendation to the board, and the board will vote on it, Witt said.
 
School board member Joe Dean said this process allows for more organized participation, which the community requested.
 
Aho said he would set deadlines for nominations this week and post them on the school system's Web site: www.hoover.k12.al.us.