Photo from the Warren County School District One of the proposals for school reconfiguration in the Warren County School District would see students in the City of Warren “redistributed” to the other attendance areas. City council has sent a letter to the district opposing that proposal and calling for a meeting with district officials.

The Warren City Council has approved a letter to the Warren County School District in opposition to a proposal that would see students taken from within the city limits and transported to outlying schools.

The proposal before the school board as part of ongoing reconfiguration discussions calls for adjusting the attendance area boundaries – “taking some of the 9-12 population from Warren and redistributing students to the other three attendance areas.”

“We feel it is appropriate for us as the one body that represents all of the citizens of the City of Warren” to raise concerns, Mayor David Wortman said.

“Many generations of city residents and businesses have graduated from, or are currently enrolled at, Warren Area High School,” the letter states. “Warren Area High School has produced outstanding graduates who have gone on to excel in academic, military, technical, industrial and entrepreneurial fields.”

Council’s letter includes 17 specific points in support of an argument to “oppose any efforts regarding the proposed realignment of the Central Attendance Area….”

That list starts by pointing out that the “largest concentration of the Warren County Population resides in the current Central Attendance Area, specifically, the City of Warren.”

It raises an issue of equity – “realigning the Central Attendance Area to support attendance areas that pay a far lesser amount of the District’s tax revenue is unjust for those who chose to live in the current Central Attendance Area.”

Council objects to removing students from a “newly-renovated building” that can offer advanced courses and asserts that the proposal under consideration will “dilute the court selection options available” to the city’s students.

Other concerns include minimizing access to amenities like labs and the library as well as extracurricular and athletic opportunities and scholarships as well as the social cost of “separating students from their longtime classmates in a generation that has already endured educational disruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Three additional concerns were raised during the meeting by Councilman Maurice Cashman, including questions about potential cost savings with the proposal; whether it enhances educational offerings as well as whether it assists in alleviating the district’s teacher shortage.

Cashman specifically objected to the proposal because it was put forward “late in the process” about a month ago.

“Tonight, we as a council have an opportunity to stand up for the right thing and advocate that education be put first for our citizen’s children,” Councilman John Wortman, also a school board candidate in the upcoming election, said.

Lydia Balas, council’s junior member and a student at WAHS, told council that she is already starting to see a “shortage of classes.”

“This proposal would, frankly, strip those opportunities,” she said, and would have a “massive impact.”

She expressed her hope that council would approve the letter raising these concerns.

The “ask” in the letter is for a meeting with school district officials on the proposal.

Mayor Wortman said that he would want to “open the meeting up to the whole Central Attendance Area.”

“While we agree that the current configuration of the Warren County School District needs to be addressed,” the letter states, “we believe that the proposed realignment of the Central Attendance Area is not the best option.”

“Part of our responsibility is being representative of our constituents,” Mayor Wortman said, explaining that the proposal, if enacted, would have a “long-term and very negative impact” for students in the city.

He acknowledged, though, that the district faces an “excruciatingly” difficult decision.

A second public engagement session was held Tuesday night to “present options with discussion on the plusses, potentials and concerns with various options.”

Due to press time issues, coverage of the meeting will be available at timesobserver.com this morning and in the print edition of Thursday’s Times Observer.