In a 3-2 vote, school boardmembers granted Open Alternative School (OAS) an exception to its interdistrict transfer policy for the 2014-2015 school year. Up to 15 students who live from Montecito to El Capitan — known as the “secondary school district” — will be able to enroll in OAS by the extended deadline of 3/27. A change in board policy six years ago restricted the school’s population to only students who lived in the Hope Elementary District, and the progressive “school of choice” saw its population drop from 224 students to 131. Tuesday’s move is a “Band-Aid,” a couple of boardmembers noted, as further measures by parents will need to be implemented to significantly increase population in the long run.
