Packed schools delay start date for some students

A third grade student at Della S. Lindley in Thousand Palms will join her classmates four days behind due to an overcrowding issue at the school.

More than a dozen students at that school alone are on “over-flow” as they wait to get back to school.

The Palm Springs Unified School District said this issue is common at the start of every school year due to overcrowding, transfers and enrollment issues. A spokesperson said school support staff is working quickly to place all families in their neighborhood schools.

Cindy Aponte’s family lives within the school’s boundaries but was turned away on the first day due to miscommunication in enrollment and intra-transfer issues. Her student has since been approved to attend school.

In a statement, a spokesperson from PSUSD said, “After the 5 day drop, and each day, as student enrollment changes, we try to get overflowed students back to their boundary school. We prioritize students who already have siblings at schools.”

The deadline for students who live outside the attendance area was March 8. PSUSD said most of these requests were granted. There was a second transfer deadline of June 30. PSUSD said they didn’t deny any transfer requests.

The district checks enrollment numbers each day to try to meet families needs. The school will drop all “no-show” students who have not come to school the first five days starting on Wednesday 8/15.