school district issues- should we stay or should we go?

[marieangela]

We have had our house for sale for 7 months now and we keep changing our minds about staying in our current school district or leaving.  A long, drawn our process has been going on to decide whether to renovate the two elementary schools or close them both and build a big school.  I like having a neighborhood school that we can walk to and where the kids and teachers and parents all know each other.  I don't want a huge school for my kids even if it has better technological updates and such.  Then again, I don't want them to spend a couple of years in limbo while their school is renovated.  Also, I've been a bit worried about the k-6 and 7-12 set up of the district.  I can't really imagine a 7th grader heading to the same school as 12th graders.  And, then again, my youngest (21 months) has a genetic disorder and will need special needs assistance.  I'm not sure how much just yet, but I know some.  We want a bigger house with a decent sized yard and more than one bathroom.  Moving to a neighboring school district, which is one of the best in the region, is one of our options.  the only problem is that we can't seem to find a house in our price range that has four bedrooms and a decent sized yard.  Do we compromise on the house or the school district?  Too much to think about.  Also, I went to city schools that were rated very poorly and went on to graduate with highest honors from college.  I guess available extras and special needs programs are more important to me than pssa scores and the like.  I've been thinking about this a lot and would like some outside opinions on our situation.

Forgot to mention that our boys love their school and don't want to leave.  They are in 2nd and kindergarten now, though, and I would think it would be easier to switch schools now than in 7th grade. 

[Lisa1970]

My dh wanted to stay in our town because he liked the houses better. I already knew I hated the district. I mean, I actually hated (and still hate) this district. Things came to an end when my husband put his foot down. We could either move within the area, or not move at all. If we did not move at all, and we were seriously grown out of our house, we were going to have issues. I ended up having to give in and the new house is just blocks from the old house. I hate that my husband did not include me in this decision and made this decision on his own. But, I guess he is paying for it now. We currently drive our children to a different town for a charter school...he drives them every morning, not me. And chances are good that one of the 2 children will start a private school instead next year that is even further away. And the rest of our children home school. By fall, my husband will most likely leave every morning by 7am to drive down in to the city to a private school. I would have preferred to have lived in a better school district and have the neighborhood schools. 

I think if you are really unhappy with the local schools and would rather be in the other district, then it is worth it to give on the house and move. You just need to decide how much you like the local schools, or dislike them.

Good luck with your decision. I hope I have helped at least a little bit.

[KCMichigan]

Originally Posted by Lisa1970 

I think if you are really unhappy with the local schools and would rather be in the other district, then it is worth it to give on the house and move. You just need to decide how much you like the local schools, or dislike them.

Ditto the above.

You will need to decide if the house or school district is the greater need for your family and when you want to change anything.

Now is a good time to buy a house, but not a great time to sell in most areas.

I would also consider WHEN you would want to transition. Any grade is best if you do it over the summer vs mid-year. Often we had kids do Elem in another district and then transfer or open enroll in our district for the better middle/ high schools. 

[pregnant@40]

I wouldn't compromise on providing at least a "good" school experience, over a house. How you define that, and whether that means staying in your district or leaving, is your call. You haven't cited anything that is a major negative, but I'm sure there is much left out of your post. Obviously a major priority is assuring adequate resources for your special needs child, so you would probably choose the district that best serves this need.

[mtiger]

If it had to be an either/or decision, I would opt for the good school district over the larger house.

[Tigerchild]

District aside, do you like the *school* that's nearest your house?  Also, keep in mind that a lot can happen in a few years--new schools built, program shifts, ect.  I think the 7 - 12 spread isn't that big of a deal, I went to one of those as a high schooler and never even saw the middle school kids because they were on a different schedule and were in a different part of the building.

I love my kids' program, and the school it's housed in, but I really dislike and have disdain for the district leadership and the decisions they make as a whole.  I hate their curriculum process.  I think they make ridiculous and cowardly budgetary decisions.  I wish that I didn't have my eyes opened to that, because now I can't avoid paying attention.  However, I wouldn't change my kids' program, and I don't regret getting hitched to their school (my kids are in a program inside of a larger school)--I adore both.

Be wary of district websites and rating.  If you want to know if you really like your local school, then tour it.  You may be surprised.  My neighborhood school gets top rating, but...I am SO glad my kids don't go there, even though the school now is Title 1 that didn't even make AYP for the longest time--it's ton "better" in attitude and leadership than the "award winning" neighborhood school.

[mattemma04]

I would opt for the house/yard over the district.When we bought our home I thought it was great there was a neighborhood school. I ended up hating the local school and the district as a whole.Now I drive my kids to a private school,and told my dh there is no way EVER the kids will go to any  of our district schools given past treatment.

Most districts have oepn enrollment,so you can go anywhere if you are willing to drive. I would find the perfect house and then look into the schools.If you are open to online,charter,private then you will have a lot to pick from.

[zebra15]

IMO its not the district so much as the school with in the district, as a pp said.  The district can be golden but your local school can be horrid or vice versa.  I would want a home that everyone feels comfortable in, including a SN kid.  Hopefully you can find both but honestly, home and family comes first.  There are charter schools, online schools, homeschool, private schools, etc to choose from.  So many educational options but only one home and only one famly.

[lindberg99]

I have friends who went to a 7 - 12 school and they said the same thing as Tigerchild, they never saw the older/younger kids. It's not like 7th grade girls will be eating lunch with senior boys.

What makes the neighboring district so good? Are you looking at test scores or going by some other measure? I'm sure people looking at our district scores would not be impressed but I've been happy with the education my children are receiving. We moved for a year for a sabbatical and the kids went to a school with really high scores. The school was fine but it sure wasn't the difference I had expected to see. My DD was in 2nd grade and was really bored because she had to do 100 addition or subtraction problems a night and she was already really comfortable with that level of math so it was very repetitive. The one major difference I did see was a lot more parent involvement because there were a lot of kids with a SAHP, which was nice. Our school doesn't have a whole lot of parent involvement but I really think a lot of it is from work. If you are an hourly worker, it can be pretty hard to get off work to come to a party at school whereas if you are at home or have a flexible, salaried job, it can be much easier.

Anyway, I think I would focus more on your home environment than on the school district too.

[madskye]

I'd have to do a lot more research in the school before I'd move based on schools.

Right now, we go to one of the best schools in our district.  It's ok, but not all that.  If I moved here based solely on the school's rating, I'd be pretty disappointed right now.  I think, if you think a school is sub-par, that is one thing, and a good reason to change districts.  But if it's a difference better good and better...I think better school district is subjective.  I went to a 7-12 Jr-Sr High School and would not have a problem with it.  It was a pretty small school (which was good in terms of class size) and I loved "the big kids" and don't have any negative memories of being mixed in with them.  Band and Chorus and the bus were probably the only times we were together.  That school was actually pretty "bad" on the local school ratings but I have to say--I had a good experience there!  And as a smart kid, I think I stood out and received a lot of positive attention from my teachers.

[Emmeline II]

I would not say that "most" districts have open enrollment; here, you attend your "home" school and if there is no room at your homeschool your child gets placed in an "overflow" school.

Though we live in a highly rated district, we were unhappy with our school. It was large (600+ students/K-5), the administration was unresponsive and condescending, and the teachers complained about the parents when it should be expected that a parent would be right behind you. Ds new school is a smaller charter (about 600 students/K-12) and we are much happier with this school.

Edited by Emmeline II - 12/28/10 at 9:37pm

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by mattemma04 

Most districts have oepn enrollment,so you can go anywhere if you are willing to drive. I would find the perfect house and then look into the schools.If you are open to online,charter,private then you will have a lot to pick from.

Open enrollment is very state/county/district specific. Many, many places do not allow for open enrollment. Our town doesn't. Few of the towns here do.