ROELAND PARK, Kan. — Families are staging a Monday morning protest outside the Shawnee-Mission School District's Indian Hills Middle School after district leaders suddenly told their children not to report for class Monday.
"It was like a Pearl Harbor; they dropped this bomb on us and we have nothing to do until school starts," said Ed Tranin of Blue Valley, who says his son was to start attending Indian Hills Middle School on Jan. 5.
Tranin's son, who is dyslexic, attends nearby Horizon Academy in Roeland Park. "He's made terrific progress" at Horizon, Tranin said, "and now we're interested in him transitioning back to public school."
Tranin says he and the families of two other Horizon students had plans to send their children to one class each day at Indian Hills Middle School. The students had a so-called IEP, or Individual Education Plan, all worked out, Tranin said.
But suddenly, the Shawnee-Mission School District called parents just before the winter break and said their children should not report for class Jan. 5.
"It was incredibly insensitive to these kids to have shown them the programming they were going to provide, and then suddenly say, 'guess what, we're not going to do it,'" Tranin said.
Tranin said he and his family had toured Indian Hills Middle School and met teachers there to prepare for his son's enrollment.
He also said district leaders wouldn't answer his questions about the sudden change, instead referring him to the district's attorney.
In emails Tranin showed to NBC Action News, the district appears to blame the problem on "increased enrollment."
Tranin doesn't buy that excuse.
"I investigated and found out the district's enrollment had actually decreased 4.4% in the last four years," Tranin told NBC Action News. "Indian Hills Middle School has one of the lowest student-teacher ratios in the district," he added.
According to the emails, the district has offered to meet with Tranin on Monday to start the enrollment process all over again. Tranin's son would potentially be offered a slot at the district's Antioch Middle School.
Tranin is upset to see the enrollment process start all over again, and questions the effects the district's decisions will have on his child's ability to learn.
"It was irresponsible and insensitive, and I can't believe that someone that is in the business of serving kids would do this," Tranin said.
A spokeswoman for the Shawnee-Mission School District told NBC Action News that "staffing was an issue," and that the district "tries to work with families" and "students from a variety of centers" to make education work.
The spokeswoman declined to comment on Tranin's case, or the case of any other Horizon Academy student, citing student privacy laws.
"We want the district to be held accountable for their decisions," Tranin said.
“There are times when, because of staffing and space availability, we may not be able to honor a specific school preference,”Shawnee Mission School District spokeswoman Leigh Anne Neil told NBC Action News Monday after the protest. “It’s never a question of whether we will provide the services. Space and staff availability may require we make a placement at a different school.”
