The Jefferson County Board of Education has voted to wait one year before implementing the bulk of its new assignment plan for middle and high school students.The new boundaries won't go into effect until the 2001-2012 school year, but new high school career themes and magnet programs will begin as originally scheduled.Superintendent Sheldon Berman and other administrators recommended the delay in order to address potential transporation issues such as those associated with the new elementary assignment plan that went into effect this year.Many parents have complained about the amount of time their children have to spend on the bus, but Berman said ride times are actually down overall this year."What we're trying to say is that that isn't even good enough, and we're willing to look at all sorts of changes to make it work better," Berman told the board.The board will hold at least one work session to discuss possible changes to the transporation component of the elementary plan.The school district was forced to create new assignment plans after its previous desegration policy was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
