Northville Board of Education seeks feedback on Property Transfer Request to move neighborhood from Plymouth-Canton to Northville Schools

The Northville Board of Education will seek Public Comment on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 and Tuesday, November 18, 2014 to gather feedback from Northville school families, staff and community members regarding a Property Transfer Request petition filed with the Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency (Wayne RESA) that could ultimately move a neighborhood currently part of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools into the Northville Public Schools attendance area.

While the Northville Board of Education does not have the authority to approve or deny such a request, Wayne RESA has asked that each of the respective Boards of Education take a position on the Property Transfer Request before it is considered by the Wayne RESA Board of Education. As a result, the Northville Board of Education is offering an opportunity for public input prior to taking a formal position on the Property Transfer Request. The Public Comment will take place as part of the Board of Education’s Regular Meetings on November 11th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hillside Middle School Forum, 775 North Center Street, and November 18th, at 7:30 p.m. at Northville High School, 45700 Six Mile Road.

Under the Michigan School Code (MCL 380.951), property owners residing in one school district can petition their local Intermediate School District to ask that their neighborhood be “detached” from its current school district and “attached” to a contiguous school district. In this case, the Woodside Village Condominium Co-Owner Association on October 3, 2014 filed a Property Transfer Request resolution with Wayne RESA, along with a petition in support of the transfer signed by more than two-thirds of the neighborhood’s homeowners. The resolution asks that the Wayne RESA Board of Education approve a property transfer for the Woodside Village development from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools to Northville Public Schools. Woodside Village is a 115-home neighborhood in Northville Township located on the west side of Haggerty Road north of 5 Mile Road. The neighborhood borders the Northville Public Schools’ attendance boundary on its southeast corner and is adjacent to the current attendance boundaries for Winchester Elementary School, Meads Mill Middle School and Northville High School.

Wayne RESA, which has 60 days from the October 3rd filing date to act on the request, has asked that each of the respective Boards of Education for Plymouth-Canton and Northville take a formal position either in support of or not in support of the Property Transfer Request. Following public input on November 11th, the Northville Board of Education is expected to vote on its position at its Tuesday, November 18, 2014 meeting at Northville High School, where there will be an opportunity for additional public comment prior to the Board’s vote. The Wayne RESA Board will consider the Property Transfer Request at its Wednesday, November 19, 2014 meeting. Once Wayne RESA issues its decision, any of the parties affected (those requesting the property transfer, or either of the two school districts involved) has the option to appeal the decision to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan Department of Education.

For more information about the Property Transfer Request process in general, and this matter in particular, e-mail your questions to nps@northvilleschools.org.