A school board in an affluent Connecticut suburb has rejected a school choice plan that would have had it take in 16 students from the city of Norwalk.
The Darien Board of Education voted 5-4 Tuesday not to participate in a pilot Open Choice program, which was supported by the superintendent of schools and the board’s chairman.
The program, designed to deal with the issue of racial and economic disparities between city and suburban schools, would have allowed up to 16 kindergartners from Norwalk to attend Darien elementary schools in the fall.
“This is our opportunity to show our students we are serious about supporting their voices, that we’re serious about change and that we’re serious about supporting diversity,” School Superintendent Alan Addley told the board.
Opponents cited larger class sizes, uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible financial burden on the town in rejecting the plan.