Queens electeds call on DOE to reverse zone priority change
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Two of Bayside’s elected officials issued their support of efforts to hold off on the elimination of high school zoning priority. Screenshot via Google Maps
By Rachel Vick
Queens legislators are throwing their support behind requests to delay the implementation of a Department of Education decision to eliminate geographic priorities in the high school admissions process.
Bayside electeds Assemblymember Edward Braunstein and State Sen. John Liu wrote a letter to Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter Friday urging her to step in, citing the impact of long commutes on students from northeastern neighborhoods in the borough.
"Ending geographic priority at the 11th hour injects chaos and uncertainty into an already complicated high school application process,” Liu, chairperson of Senate Committee on NYC Education, said.
“Queens is in desperate need of both more high school seats and transportation options, and this last minute change sends our kids outside the borough without the public transportation to get them there,” he added. “We must keep geographic priority indefinitely, lest we leave yet another mess for the incoming administration to clean up."
The lawmakers acknowledged overcrowding in Queens’ high schools — Bayside High School and Benjamin N. Cardozo High School are both operating above capacity according to DOE data from 2019 — but that long commutes without subway access is more taxing.
Instead, they suggest holding off on the removal of geographic priority until additional seats are made available in the district to give students the option of picking a conveniently located school.
“With over 12,000 Queens high school students already commuting to other boroughs for school, many Queens high school students report commute times of upwards of two to three hour,” they wrote. “Longer commutes impact a student’s ability to participate in sports, clubs, internships and other extracurricular activities that are important to their social development and career planning.”
Queens High School Presidents’ Council and Community Education Council of District 26 has already submitted their own formal opposition to the plan to eliminate the priority component.
Last year, 48 of the more than 200 high schools offering priority removed the zoning policy in line with the city’s initiative, according to the DOE.
“The geographic phase out was always a two year proposal – year one clearly demonstrated the value in removing district priorities and following community feedback, we’re reevaluating the year two component,” DOE spokesperson Katie O’Hanlon told the Eagle. “As always, we are putting the needs of families front and center, and we will share details soon.”
