WINDHAM – The latest proposal to send some Windham students to school in Raymond would require them to attend kindergarten through fifth grade at Raymond Elementary School and then let them choose where they go to middle school.
The Regional School Unit 14 board will discuss that proposal at a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, then vote on a redistricting plan designed to alleviate overcrowding in Windham schools by using under-capacity schools in Raymond.
The board this month has held two public hearings on the proposal to redistrict, both attended by about 100 people, said Catriona Sangster, a school board member and chair of the committee that came up with the initial redistricting proposal.
The Windham students who would have to switch schools next year are those who live north of the intersection of Route 302 with Whites Bridge and Anglers roads.
Another part of the proposal is to move the fifth grade from Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond to Raymond Elementary School so grades would be aligned in the same way in both towns. Windham Primary School serves kindergarten through third grade, and Manchester School serves Windham fourth- and fifth-graders.
The initial proposal called for north Windham students in kindergarten through eighth grade to attend Raymond’s elementary and middle schools. Before the first public hearing, the board announced that only students through third grade would be required to switch next fall, but those students would have to stay in Raymond schools through eighth grade.
The new proposal gives those students the choice of staying with their Raymond classmates and going to Jordan-Small in fifth grade or attending Windham Middle School, where there are more extra-curricular and athletic opportunities, including student council, field hockey and wrestling.
Sangster said more changes to the proposal may be made at the meeting Wednesday, which will be in the Windham Town Council Chambers.
Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
lbridgers@pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
