Just about 12 hours from now (at midnight, April 1st) the LAUSD web page that will accept Inter-District permit applications will go live. And my prediction is the site will crash by about 12:15am. I figure it’ll take about that long to fill out the application and click “submit” — and when about 1000 people do it at the same moment, the system will be understandably overwhelmed. I don’t have a crystal ball, mind you, just making an educated guess about it all.

And believe me, the irony of the date is not lost on most of us.

For those of you scratching your head right about now, a little background: LAUSD recently issued a new policy limiting transfers out of the district in order to keep the estimated 12,000 students who left it this past year. It’s a money-saving measure since they can re-coup about $50 million dollars by doing it, it’s estimated. And I mentioned it in a post over on Sarah’s Blog the other day.

But a lot of people got pretty upset about it. The parents whose kids would be affected started a Facebook group to share information and have mobilized and organized VERY quickly. The school districts that would be affected by losing so many students (and dollars) have collaborated in order to save their own budgets. And now the LA County Supervisors have weighed in, questioning whether the policy works since, in the words of Zev Yaroslavsky, it’s a “zero-sum game.”

On April 6th, the LAUSD School Board will meet and consider a motion to modify the policy, so things could change slightly at that point, but most people will still submit applications tonight at midnight just in case.

I sure hope they’re servers are ready. And why do I think they won’t be…?

(I hear that’s what the kids are saying these days.) What this mom is saying is that Tanya Anton really knows her stuff: She can tell you all about public schools on the Westside. I took her seminar this weekend and I must tell you — it is thorough. I mean, I have learned a lot in my 6 years in country in LAUSD, and I have often had people run from the room screaming when I start to explain things to them.

But Tanya Anton has a way of explaining it all and keeping people in the room. It’s a gift, clearly.

I went to the seminar because, like many of you readers, I am looking for a middle school for my eldest. And like many of you readers, I am concerned about LAUSD’s new policy regarding inter-district transfers. Tanya has as much or more information about the state of that policy than anyone around.

She’s not there to rank schools or tell you where to send your kids; she gives you the info to navigate the very, very confusing world of Westside public schools, including the magnet system and the charter schools.

She’s written a book about choosing an elementary school and has recently come out with a guide to middle school choices as well. I bought the middle school book, which was discounted at the seminar to $15, normally $19.95. (I paid $25 to attend the seminar.) For the information it contains and the straightforward way it’s presented, I think it’s a bargain. I highly recommend it. Her website, GoMamaGuide.com, is a great resource for information about local schools. Give it a look-see.