NORMAL -- Only a quarter of eligible parents have asked that their Unit 5 high-school students complete their career at the school they started.

The students would have been displaced as part of the district's redistricting plans. The request deadline is Dec. 1.

Two elementary schools will open in 2010 and a new junior high will open in either 2010 or 2011, forcing some students to attend different schools as the district keeps enrollment balanced among its buildings.

At public meetings, parents and students worried that high school students would suffer in academics, sports and social support if they had to switch schools.

Some parents lobbied for a grandfather clause that would allow younger siblings to have the same opportunity, but board members didn't approve that request.

By last week, 110 of 412 eligible families had sought attendance exceptions, said John Pye, Unit 5 assistant superintendent of human resources.

Normal Community High School has 1,883 students. Normal Community West has 1,722 students.