Tomorrow's the deadline to apply for school transfers and magnet school admissions in the Portland public school system. So what if parents make a decision about where (and whether) to apply for now, only to have their considerations radically altered by a school closure finalized over the next few weeks? This press release from the school district may shed some light on that:

Portland Public Schools' deadline for parents to apply for transfers for their elementary and middle school students is at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 24. (The high school application deadline was March 3.)

Superintendent Phillips plans to present her proposal for reconfiguring some Portland schools and closing some school buildings on Tuesday, April 4. If the Portland School Board approves changes to schools, whether at high schools or at elementary and middle schools, Portland Public Schools will reopen the School Choice Application window for two weeks in May.

Parents may wish to file a School Choice application before Friday's elementary and middle school deadline, confident that if their child's neighborhood or transfer options change, they may file another application later. Under the School Choice lottery system, the later application automatically overrides the earlier application.