
Decision to Rezone Two Brooklyn Schools Now Rests with Parent Council

New York City education officials presented their final plan to rezone two elementary schools near the Brooklyn waterfront, putting the decision to approve or reject it in the hands of the Community Education Council for School District 13.
The proposal outlined Monday night at the Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women acknowledged community feedback received at small group meetings held in October and earlier this month but either rejected those ideas or did little to actually incorporate the feedback into the city plan.
Education officials did not change the school zone lines proposed in September, which will shift families living in Dumbo, Vinegar Hill, and three buildings of Farragut Houses from P.S. 8 Robert Fulton in Brooklyn Heights to P.S. 307 Daniel Hale Williams in Vinegar Hill. The proposed changes still will apply to future kindergarten students who do not have older siblings enrolled at P.S. 8.
On issues of funding at P.S. 307 and maintaining small class sizes, officials said they would do their best to maintain resources at the school once funding for a magnet grant ran out or if the school lost its federal Title I status because more middle class families chose to enroll there. But they made no guarantees.
And in response to a request to keep the school's doors open in the future to students from lower-income families, the city said it would give weight in admissions to low-income students outside the school's immediate zone, but only after giving priority to students within the zone.
Faraji Hannah-Jones, co-president of the P.S. 307 P.T.A, said the association wanted 50 percent of total seats at the school reserved for families who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
"We all know what's happening in that neighborhood," said Hannah-Jones, referring to the development boom in Dumbo and the influx of wealth to the area. "When we said 50 percent, we didn't say 50 percent with conditions. We want the opportunity to sustain the equity for that neighborhood."
The Community Education Council, made up of parents, must vote on the proposal within 45 days, by early January. If approved, the new school zones would take effect next school year and would therefore apply to the upcoming kindergarten application season, which runs from Dec. 7 to Jan. 15.