District holds Coleman TK lottery; 12 students get Coleman seats, 15 placed on waiting list for Short campus

Assistant Superintendent Bob Maruchi opened a public lottery to assign Coleman-area transitional-kindergarten (TK) students to either a Coleman-site TK class or a TK class to be located at the district's Short Elementary early childhood campus. "We are going to do everything we possibly can to make it the best experience for every child and every family," Maruchi said.

Enrollment and transportation pupil services coordinator Lillian Maos said the draw was limited to Coleman residents and that the district had already assigned eight students to Coleman because they have siblings who will attend the school next year, applying the district's sibling-priority board policy. "This lottery is for Coleman residents," Maos said. She told families that the TK classroom capacity is 20 students, that eight spots had been reserved for siblings, and that the lottery would determine the remaining 12 seats.

Staff described the mechanics of the draw: enrollment numbers that families received at registration were placed in a lottery machine; drawn numbers and the corresponding student names were read aloud and repeated for clarity. District staff announced the 12 enrollment numbers and names that filled the Coleman-site class and then completed a second draw to determine the order of a waiting list. The district read aloud the waiting-list order for 15 students and said those students would automatically be assigned to the Short-site class if spots open at Coleman.

Officials said families will receive a letter in the coming days indicating whether a child received a Coleman-site seat or is on the waiting list assigned to the Short-site class, and directed questions to the enrollment office. The lottery and assignment process was presented as a response to a combination of unusually high TK demand and construction constraints at Coleman Elementary, and staff emphasized using a fair, impartial method for placements.