Admissions Policy Set for Magnet School

Parents who want to enroll their children in Orange Unified School District’s first magnet school next fall may have to camp out to do so.

A divided Board of Education has voted to admit students on a first-come, first-served basis on registration day.

Enrollment in each grade at the new campus, which will offer accelerated programs in science, mathematics and technology, will be limited, administrators said.

The school is set to open this fall in the old McPherson Middle School.

Some board members proposed reserving some seats in the elementary school for high-performing students across the district, but that option was defeated in a 4-3 vote.

Assistant Supt. Neil McKinnon said that administrators surveyed other districts with magnet schools and found that they all admitted students based on the order in which they applied.

“This is the first commitment for parents to make to the magnet school,” he said.

McKinnon, who said he has supervised admissions at other magnet schools, advised that parents get in line the night before registration.

Based on demand at other schools with magnet programs, board members said last week, lines could begin forming as long as 48 hours before the registration.

A date for enrollment in the new magnet school will be set for a Saturday morning at the end of April or the beginning of May, officials said. Parents will be sent notices with registration details.

The school will offer kindergarten through sixth grade in its first year, then add seventh and eighth grades in succeeding years. As many as 550 students will be registered this spring.