Washington/Edison Sixth Graders Surveyed, Results Untabulated

The survey crafted to gauge reaction from sixth grade students from the Washington School district redistricted to Edison Intermediate School has been conducted but not tabulated by school district officials.

Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan informed the Board of Education on Tuesday evening that the survey was conducted in the last few weeks of the school year but she has not had the chance to tabulate the results. She said she plans to tabulate and analyze the results in the coming weeks and make a presentation to the board at a meeting in either August or September.

The survey was conducted in response to concerns from some BOE members regarding the impact of last year's controversial redistricting of Washington students from Roosevelt to Edison. The board members, including David Finn, Richard Mattessich and Mitch Slater, said they wanted to gauge the impact of the redistricting to the other side of town, the bus ride and separation from their friends on the students. The decision to hold the survey was done following a slightly roundabout discussion of other survey possibilities for sixth graders, including a survey of the entire sixth grade population in Westfield.

Finn and Mattessich were elected in 2009 based on their opposition to the redistricting.