The Jefferson County Board of Education has decided not to further delay implementation of its new student assignment plan for middle school students.The board took up the matter at its Monday meeting after consultant Dr. Gary Orfield suggested the plan be put off one more year, after he finishes a report he’s compiling on it. The middle school plan had already been delayed once in hopes of avoiding the transportation problems that occurred following implementation of the elemenatary assignment plan. But the four board members who originally voted to implement the middle school plan this fall stuck to their votes, including Larry Hujo."I’m going to do it with the understanding that our transportation folks that say this can be done, they damn well better be right, or next year they’re going to have to deal with me. And if they can’t get it right, I’m going to tell you now, I’m going to work like hell to make sure that the new person with that job gets it right," he said. Superintendent Sheldon Berman says delaying the plan another year would have affected as many as 1,500 sixth graders.The high school assignment plan is scheduled for implementation in the fall of 2012.
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.
