Hundreds of Lawrence elementary students applying for school transfers finally know what they’re up against.

The school board has approved maximum class-enrollment limits for purposes of considering student transfer requests. Enrollment caps, which vary from school to school, will be used to determine whether students are granted transfers in the 2003-2004 academic year.

“The purpose … is to bring order to it,” said Scott Morgan, school board president. “This is a pretty good first shot. I suspect we will have to adapt to reflect experience.”

In the past, transfers were decided by principals and district administrators who relied on subjective factors. It’s led to crowding in some elementary schools, while other schools have gone begging for students.

Not all wiggle room was removed from the process, but class-size limit will be used for the first time to block transfer requests that exacerbate overcrowding in elementary classrooms.

Here are the maximums:

⢠East Heights, New York and Woodlawn schools: 20 students in kindergarten through third-grade classes; 24 in fourth through sixth grades.

⢠Kennedy, Cordley and Pinckney: 21 in K-3; 25 in 4-6.

⢠The 11 other elementary schools: 22 in K-3; 26 in 4-6.

Differences among the schools reflect each building’s enrollment of students in the free-and-reduced lunch program. The more poor students in a school, the lower the classroom enrollment limit.

About 350 student transfer requests have been filed with the district for next academic year, which is about normal.

The deadline for applications, except for parents of students at Riverside School, was Dec. 1. The deadline for Riverside was extended one month, because the board gave tentative approval Dec. 2 to shut down the school at the end of this academic year.

Some parents have questioned the wisdom of the transfer policy.

Brent Lamb, a Centennial School parent, said the policy might improve the district’s ability to hire the right number of teachers for each school. But, he said, the change will greatly complicate transfer decisions by parents.

What if a family has two children, Lamb said, but only one child’s transfer is approved? What happens when an elementary school has four available slots in a classroom, but six applications for those seats? Will annual enrollment shifts force transfer students out of a school they’ve attended for years?

Lamb, who has been vocal about the issue because Centennial and East Heights schools are earmarked for closure, said the board should make transfers permanent.

Under the new policy, all transfers will have to be renewed annually.

Morgan said people should know that the new regulations wouldn’t necessarily eliminate class enrollments higher than the caps. An enrollment surge within a school’s regular boundary area could push totals beyond limits the board applies to transfer requests, he said.

“We’re not going to let transfers contribute to a class-size problem,” the president said.

District staff will forward transfer applications to each school principal. They will consider projected classroom enrollments to determine whether a transfer should be approved.

Families should be notified of the rulings by about Feb. 1.

“We’re going to try to meet that,” said Cleo Langley, administrative assistant to Supt. Randy Weseman.

Students who have attended a school as a transfer in the past will be given priority over new transfers. In addition, students who moved to a new school area will be given priority if they want to remain at their old school.

The board approved the new limits during its meeting last week.