Living in polygon 15, I am familiar with what it's like to be in an island. Dividing Dickinson among multiple schools is not ideal. But it beats all of the kids in Dickinson spending an extra 30-60 minutes daily riding a bus through a heavily commercialized area to a school outside of our community.
I can certainly sympathize with the families in polygons 16 and 1016. If it's really only 20 kids, it seems like they could fit into Hammond or Atholton. But that said, we should not throw out the whole plan for 20 kids. Please note that the families in polygons 16 and 1016 do not speak for all of Dickinson. I would much rather be divided in a logical manner and split between two schools that are geographically connected to my neighborhood.
It's easy as parents and outsiders to get emotional and think that we have a better idea than the folks who spent months developing this plan. There is no way to make everyone happy and it's a delicate balancing act to try to build community, keep a school close to capacity but not overcrowded, and keep transportation costs in check.
Phillip Dodge
Kings Contrivance