Residency trips magnet schools

Academic Magnet High has been penalized with fines and forfeitures after it unknowingly broke state rules by allowing two of its out-of-county students to participate in athletic competitions.

A review of students' addresses earlier this school year revealed six out-of-county residents were enrolled in the top-ranked Charleston County magnet school, and another nine out-of-county students were discovered at School of the Arts.

The school district doesn't allow out-of-county students to enroll in its magnet schools, but it allowed those 15 students to stay at its flagship magnet high schools until the state Supreme Court rules on a local case. A Berkeley County resident who attends Academic Magnet High has challenged the district's policy.

This is the first time both schools are dealing with out-of-county students, and the situation has created a number of first-time scenarios for school officials. Some of their decisions have drawn criticism, but educators say these issues shouldn't come up again.

Academic Magnet High has suffered penalties because of ineligible students playing sports -- School of the Arts doesn't have a sports program -- and both schools have tried to compensate for the out-of-county students by offering spots to county students on its waiting lists.

Under the state High School League rules, students have to be a resident of the county where they're enrolled to be eligible. If they live in a different county, they're ineligible for one calendar year, said Jerome Singleton, the league's commissioner.

When Academic Magnet High Principal Judith Peterson learned the school enrolled out-of-county students, she found two had competed in swimming and tennis events. The school reported itself and was fined for having ineligible students compete. The school paid a total of $1,400: $500 for a swim meet, and $300 each for three tennis matches.

Peterson said the school appealed the penalties because officials thought the students were eligible to play, but the league denied the appeal in late January. This situation hasn't come up in the past, Peterson said, but the school knows what to do now.

"We shouldn't have any problems from this point on," she said.

Because 15 Charleston County residents have been displaced by the out-of-county students, both schools opened up spaces to county students on its waiting lists.

At Academic Magnet High, four freshmen were offered the chance to transfer in at the start of the second semester in January, and four accepted. Its two other out-of-county residents were in 10th grade, but those slots won't be filled until this fall.

Peterson said its students take the same seven or eight classes for an entire school year, whereas most other schools have students take four different courses each semester. Any sophomore who transferred mid-year would've had too much and too difficult material to make up, she said. Even the freshmen admitted mid-year have had a difficult time, but their schedule includes more electives, such as physical education and computer, that are easier to make up, she said.

At School of the Arts, waiting lists didn't exist for any of the majors and grades with out-of-county students, according to Audrey Lane, the district's deputy for organizational advancement. The only exception was ninth-grade theater, and a spot in that program was offered to a student on the waiting list who accepted and transferred. The majors without waiting lists included: visual arts for freshmen, orchestra for seniors, piano for freshmen, dance for freshmen and sophomores, and theater for juniors.

Henry Copeland, a vocal critic of the district who has been an ardent supporter of address verification, said school officials seem to find an answer to every question raised, even if their logic doesn't make sense.

"They're making it up as they go along," he said.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546.