Tuesday evening the Plymouth Community School Board unanimously approved the Redistricting Plan presented by Superintendent Mitch Mawhorter and created with input from parents, teachers, bus drivers, the community, and a 16-member committee.
The committee first looked at the two options presented by Jerry McKibben from McKibben Demographic Research from a safe walking route for five-year-olds as their starting point. The new walking zones are up to one mile from each building. The committee used the railroad tracks as a point they wanted to keep students away from along with having minimal crossing of Michigan and Jefferson Streets for students. During the redistricting, the committee also worked to create a balance of economics and diversity in each of the elementary schools.
On Tuesday Option 3 was approved and will be implemented with the start of the next school year in August. In this option, buses will only transport students to the school designated for the area they live in. Parents who choose to send their students to an elementary building outside their district boundary will be allowed to continue to send their students to their current elementary school, but they must provide transportation. The out-of-district choice will require continuous enrollment meaning other siblings must attend the same school of choice. First-time families will not be given the option to attend a school outside their boundaries and blended families will be required to select one district school.
When it comes to babysitters, Plymouth school buses will only transport within the assigned district area If your sitter is outside your district school area, then the parent or sitter will be responsible for transportation to the district school.
