The worst they could say is "No."

I think I've mentioned before that we applied for open enrollment for Colin to go to school in Somerset. The first application was due in February and you bet your booty I turned it in on the first day I could :)

Then the wait. From February until May, we waited for the decision from the school board. Turns out, all new open enrollments got denied (the OEs that got accepted were new students who had siblings currently attending, and students who were switching buildings). The reason? Lack of space.

I cried. I asked my principal what I could do. He said I could appeal, and he's only known of two previous appeals--one got accepted and one got denied again.  I cried in his office. Blubbering mess. I talked to the superintendent and asked him what I could do. He was sympathetic, but he's also a rule follower. There's no grey area with him--it's all black and white. He told me to sell our house. "It's a buyers market! You can find a good deal on a new house in the district!" I cried some more. I emailed a former district employee, who is now a school board member, who asked if I had considered the appeal process (and by doing so, kind of got the impression that she was saying we should appeal).

A co-worker of mine, who is a JK (Jr. Kindergarten aka 4K aka 4 year old preschool) teacher also got denied. We decided to appeal the decision, thinking the worst they (Dept. of Public Instruction, aka DPI) could say is no. We had to get all of our ducks in a row, stating why the school board's decision was arbitrary or unjust. We knew, as teachers, that lack of space was a lame excuse. The JK classes had been moved to a different building on campus just a few years ago. There were 3 rooms for 6 sections of students, and so far only 2 rooms (4 sections) were planned. We filled out some paperwork, wrote up an explanation, and crossed our fingers.

Then we waited. In the meantime, I had another conversation with the superintendent who told me that I could apply for an open enrollment exception, which is usually reserved for cases of bullying, a military family, etc. but there's an "other" box you could choose, and submit your reason why attending school in Somerset was in the best interest of your child. He also told me we could sell our house again (sigh...). But overall, he was sympathetic. I told him I hope he took my appeal as a compliment, that I believe in our district and I want my child to go there too. He said he did.

My co-worker and I applied for the Open Enrollment Exception. We wrote up our reasoning and submitted it for the school board to read (they make the decision over these, not DPI).

A few weeks ago, the boys and I were having a lemonade stand. Kevin was home and had gotten the mail, and an envelope came from DPI. He called me and told me the news that "by the order of DPI" Colin was approved to go to Somerset. I was unbelievably excited :)

So, of course, the next day I pranced into the office where I declared, "MY KID IS OFFICIALLY A SPARTAN!!!!!" and got his registration information. Since then, Colin has gotten his backpack and school supplies, he has met his teacher (the co-worker who also appealed) a few times because we've had a few playdates, and he said he's ready for her to be his teacher. We will see if he feels the same way next Tuesday!

Sometimes, you gotta fight for what's right. Just because someone says no doesn't mean someone else will too :)