At the Nov. 18 planning session, the Levittown Board of Education discussed the concerns that parents of Abbey Lane students had about the possible change in attendance zones in Levittown.

The change in attendance zones would have students who attend Abbey Lane Elementary School move up to Wisdom Lane Middle School and Division Avenue High School rather than Salk Middle School and MacArthur High School. Many parents have expressed displeasure at the idea of this change in the attendance zones fearing it would affect the value of their homes. This change has become necessary because Salk and MacArthur will become overcrowded in the near future, possibly by 2000-01 so a plan has to be formulated quickly. The only other possible option for the district would be to add rooms to these two schools which is not in the budget.

Gerald R. Claps, assistant superintendent for administration, has been meeting with parents from Abbey Lane individually and in small groups to hear their input on the situation and to discuss a possible grandfather clause. The board has been using the information gathered in these meetings in formulating a plan for the change.

The grandfather clause, according to Superintendent Herman Sirois, will allow students, under certain circumstances, if, for example, they have a sibling currently at the school, to move on to Salk/MacArthur. The board must come up with a definite policy for the grandfather clause so that it will affect all students equally. According to Sirois, "If they make a grandfather clause they have to set the criteria for the grandfathering clause that would affect all students that fit that criteria, not just one person at a time. That is what they are grappling with."

Claps will continue to be meeting with any concerned parents before the next school board meeting. He will meet with anyone who signs up or calls for an appointment. The earliest that the board would make a final decision about the possible rezoning, according to Sirois, would be at the Dec. 9 school board meeting.