Elementary school students could be transferred, against their parents’ wishes, between elementary schools in Gardiner, West Gardiner and Pittston in a policy change being considered by Gardiner-area school district officials.

Superintendent Kady Gould said the goal is to give the district flexibility to better balance class sizes among four elementary schools in School Administrative District 11. The district would like the ability to move students from overcrowded classrooms to schools with lower class sizes and capacity to take on more students.

Gould said she would be able to have a conversation and arrange for transportation for the student to a building where classes aren’t over enrollment in their class size range.

“The reason I wanted to bring it to your attention was we had a pretty robust conversation during (a policy committee meeting about it),” she said, “and because it hasn’t been our past practice it doesn’t feel great. It feels like it’s not welcoming to a new family.”

Some board members worry the change could frustrate some parents by moving their children out of their community’s elementary school, potentially to a school in another municipality, against their wishes.

When they met earlier this month, school board membersexpressed concerns about the policy change and sent the proposal back to their policy committee for more work before it comes back to the board for reconsideration.

“I’m just concerned that families move in and may be looking for something specific, and all of a sudden they’re not getting what they thought they’d be getting, in terms of education for their child,” said Joanne O”Brien, a Gardiner board member. “Would there be some negotiation, or some clarity, for parents, and discussions about why?”

Gould said conversations would take place with parents about any such move. The need to move a student would likely be fairly rare. Parents would be notified in advance of any transfer and involved in the decision. he decision would be made with consideration for what’s best for the student. But ultimately, she said, the final decision would be up to the superintendent.

The policy as proposed does not include an appeals process.. Some board members said they’d like to see one.

The policy notes if a student is transferred somewhere other than the school they’d normally attend, transportation would be provided to and from the new school.

Board Chair Becky Fles, who represents Gardiner, said the district has been faced with uneven class sizes at its various elementary schools. , One year, Laura E. Richards School in Gardiner had classes with as many as 24 students, while class sizes were as low as 12 at the elementary school in Pittston.

That was before the district closed T.C. Hamlin Elementary School in Randolph following extensive discussions in 2018 and consolidated elementary students on the east side of the Kennebec River in Pittston, at the renamed Pittston-Randolph Consolidated School.

During this year’s budgeting process, administrators and board members said the district’s enrollment has been dropping in recent years, a decline which has also meant decreased funding from the state.

Gould said that has stretched resources, especially as the district maintains four elementary schools in three municipalities.

Anthony Veit, a Gardiner board member, said enrollment can vary even within the district, as parents choose the community where they wish to live. For some, that means picking the school they want their children to attend. He said the problem wouldn’t exist if the district had one, consolidated, elementary school attended by all students.

Veit, chairman of the policy committee, said one of the questions the policy doesn’t currently answer is what would happen the following school year if a student transfers to another school for a year.

“Do they go back to their original school or do they stay where they’ve made friends and connections with teachers at that new school?” Veit said. “So there’s some complexity to that, especially if it’s a class size issue in one town and then it levels out in the next (year).”

Gould said those decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis, in collaboration with the student’s family.

The policy committee’s next meeting is June 4.