School transition plan is unfair

Recently the District 300 Board voted to rezone children living in Gilberts from Hampshire Middle School to Dundee Middle School, but noting current students would be grandfathered in next year, with incoming sixth graders attending Dundee.

However, they would not be providing transportation to these grandfathered-in students - initially noting transportation would be denied to both incoming seventh/eighth graders next year.

Then, a few weeks ago, the district officials stated they were taking "extraordinary" measures to provide transportation only to incoming eighth graders, but not seventh graders. As a fellow mom noted, I guess our kids are not valued enough for these measures.

The district is using a selective definition of our kids as "transfers" to Hampshire, when in reality they are remaining at their current school - just so District 300 can get out of adhering to Illinois law pertaining to transportation rights. As a matter of fact, they call it "transition" TO Dundee in other documents - because everyone knows that is what it is - a forced transition.

To add salt to the wound, the district forced students who want to remain at Hampshire to submit a form by Dec. 21. This form lets one select to "remain" at Hampshire, with the caveat that incoming seventh graders would have to waive rights to transportation or "transition" to Dundee. Students who failed to submit this form by Dec. 21 would automatically be enrolled in Dundee. This decision had to be made less than one month after the district posted its decision on their website.

Do we as parents of incoming seventh graders pay less in taxes than the parents of incoming eighth graders? Our taxes should cover preventing our children unreasonable disruption/undue anxiety from having to switch schools after just getting acclimated to their current school as scared 11-year-olds.

Sue Lundy

Gilberts