Appellants filed an open enrollment application for their daughter who will be entering kindergarten to go to the West Branch District. In spite of the superintendent's recommendation for approval, it was denied by the District Board by a vote of 3 to 2 on May 20, 1996.

This is not the Board's first appearance before the State Board of Education involving the denial of legitimate, timely-filed open enrollment applications. This is not a situation where we have a board that does not KNOW the law. What we have here is a board that will not OBEY the law.

Another troubling aspect of this Board's action in denying timely-filed applications for open enrollment is that there appears to be no "downside" for the individual board members who vote no. There is no inconvenience or stress relayed to their families.

Perhaps if the board members who vote against timely-filed applications were asked to appear before the State Board to explain their rationale, the State Board would better understand their position.

That the decision of the West Liberty Community School District's Board of Directors made on May 20, 1996 was reversed.