SCHOOL WAITLIST STILL LONG

Waitlisted parents in District 2 are still on edge as the Department of Education finalizes placements for Upper East Side students next fall. P.S. 290"s waitlist, at 89 students as of May 17, dropped minimally from three weeks ago, when it had 99 students. â??So far, very few families are declining offers this year, said Sally Mason, the school"s parent coordinator. She added that newcomers are still signing up, keeping the waitlist long. However, education officials believe that attrition in the coming months will cut down those numbers. The department declined to provide waitlist updates for other Upper East Side Schools, citing fluctuations that change from day to day. However, education officials said they would stick to a May 21 deadline to inform families of alternative placements at P.S. 151, P.S. 158, P.S. 198 and P.S. 267. â??Every family on a waitlist will get an alternate offer sent out this week to a local school outside of their zone, said department spokesperson Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld. Elizabeth Rose, director of portfolio planning at the department, recently announced that student placements will be made according to the proximity of a student"s home to the school. But parents are still angry, demanding that they have some say in the alternative placement process. â??Given where we live, work and how our daily lives unfoldâ?¦ allowing parents to determine what backup school works for them is the right thing to do, said Michelle Hanlin in a recent letter she sent to the department. Families are allowed to keep their children on the waitlist of zoned schools until October. If a spot suddenly opens up, they can choose to accept it or to stick with their alternative placement. â??This is not the end of the line for waitlisted families, said John Moore, Council Member Jessica Lappin"s spokesperson. 's [Aline Reynolds]