Switching schools has become a little more difficult in the Bismarck School District.

In recent years, students have been printing transfer request forms off the Web and getting their friends to do the same, then turning them in, Assistant Superintendent John Salwei told the Bismarck School Board at its meeting Monday.

In the end, groups of students would put in requests, then not transfer, creating extra paperwork for the district.

This year, Salwei required parent meetings with each transfer request. He met with 138 parents, who had middle school and high school students who made a request to switch schools.

The board discussed changes to the transfer procedure. Parent involvement will be continued, and the forms have been taken off the Web.

About an equal number of requests were made to transfer to Bismarck High School as there were to transfer to Century High School. All of the requests to Century were approved. Some of the requests to Bismarck High School were denied.

Principals judge the requests based on the ability to accommodate students at the school, Salwei said. The only transfer requests still pending are sports-related, he said.

Sports is a frequent reason for a transfer request, but most of the reasons for the requests this year were for transportation and the location of the school, Salwei said.

Lunch lines will be shorter at Bismarck High School next year. The school board, at its meeting, approved a project to expand the serving lines.

Currently, the kitchen can accommodate two serving lines, not leaving enough time to adequately serve all the students during the two lunch periods. The renovation project would add two lines, making it easier for students to get through the lines so they have time to eat.

The district will ask for bids on the project. The project is estimated to cost between $90,000 and $105,000.

Representatives of the Adult Learning Center also updated the board about its services and concerns over budget cuts next year.

The adult education program, which serves people who are no longer in the school system, but who want to get a general equivalency diploma or learn other skills, anticipates about $31,000 less in funding.

It receives federal funding that is proposed to be cut 7 percent next year, which is about $15,000. A federal grant also ends this year, which is about $16,000. The Adult Learning Center receives some funding from the school district that goes toward the director's salary and benefits.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)