One piece of the Warren County School District’s four high school models that can present challenges from time to time is how students are assigned to those schools.

Each school covers a given attendance area but those attendance areas have some gray areas and there are a series of reasons outlined in district policy that allow for the assignment of students outside of those attendance area boundaries.

A revised version of that policy was before the board for the first time on Monday night.

“I do not believe some of the recent charges are in the best interest of the district,” Board member John Wortman said.

He said he’s heard frustration due to “rigid attendance lines” and wants to have a conversation about “whether we can make it easier for parents” to have a choice in where their students go to school.

Wortman pointed out that people that pay school tax in Warren County don’t pay by attendance areas.

The policy states that a “student shall attend school in the attendance area in which his/her parents/guardians are domiciled.”

Current reasons for special permission include a mid-year change of residency, special education and physical/psychological considerations, academic issues when a course isn’t offered at a home school, and “serious disciplinary” situations.

The policy states that transportation for an approved attendance area transfer will generally be the responsibility of the parent or guardian.

Two additions to the reasons list are included in the draft policy that was preliminarily approved on Monday.

One would allow students of “bargaining unit members” to attend in the area where the union members work

The other would allow transfers for child care considerations.

District policies are approved multiple times at meetings before they take effect. The first approval was Monday but the issue will be the focus of a discussion at committee meetings later this month.