Orange County school officials are looking at redrawing attendance boundaries or changing the transfer policy in order to put more kids in schools that are under their seat capacity and pull kids out of schools that are over or near seat capacity. Sounds reasonable, except for one pesky detail. The school that parents have rightly abandoned is low-performing Central Elementary. Enrollment reflects parent concern. Central has 263 students and is 192 students under capacity. (emphasis is mine)

Cameron Park has 625 students – 60 students over capacity. Central has just 263 students – 192 students under capacity.

Michael Gilbert, the public information officer for the school system, said that the additional enrollment at Cameron Park is the result of “more growth than we anticipated when we districted five years ago in Churton Park.” The under-enrollment at Central is the result of students being given the option to transfer when Central was put under Title 1 sanctions three years ago, he said.

If the public school system was infused with competition, Central would either dramatically improve the service it is providing students or it would fail and close.