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April 26, 2004 Meeting Recap (Posted April 27, 2004)
»Public Meetings info archives
>Building Options Summary
>Community comments on MTYRE
>MTYRE April 26 handout
Residents who turned out Monday, April 26 to learn about Multi-Track, Year-Round Education (MTYRE) offered many perspectives and concerns. This was the fifth in a series of workshops addressing student enrollment, which has outgrown the schools: core facilities like libraries and gyms are strained to the maximum, program flexibility is curtailed by lack of space and 12 classrooms will be housed in portable units next year. Best estimates show continued growth for the foreseeable future.
D41 in partnership with the community began gathering data on space in 2002, starting with a research and advisory committee that provided a community perspective on school and class size. During a series of public workshops, participants have brainstormed, evaluated and ranked ideas, showing greatest support for:
·Renovating the administrative offices to house students
·Reconfiguring schools
·Building a 5/6 grade center at the now vacant Spalding site in the northeast part of the district.
MTYRE is an option that the board of education brought forward, saying it has obligation to the taxpayers to conduct due diligence on all options. MTYRE is a system in which students attend school for the same number of days as they do now, but on staggered schedules so that not all students are in school at the same time.
While MTYRE can increase the number of students a school can accommodate by as much as 33%, both administrators and parents raised concerns about the impact such scheduling might have on family life, home values, community connectedness, student welfare and learning, summer learning and enjoyment, and recruiting and retaining excellent staff. “Would we have to trade what we value for more space?” asked Churchill Principal Karen Stebel. Lincoln parent Simon Bare, representing a parent organization called Families Advocating Traditional Education (FATE) noted, “This is not based on educational benefits but on economics…the community would be torn apart.”
Some 23 parents spoke out, most voicing unease with the idea and expressing worries that MTYRE would undermine the quality of education and family life. A few praised the board’s courage in investigating an unpopular option and thought it was too soon in the process to dismiss the idea. “The world is not the same as it was 20 years ago,” said parent Deanna Clark, “summer is not as free.” Parent Fiona Miller noted there are many unanswered questions and urged community members to keep an open mind as the district gathers information on the option.
Superintendent Dr. Jack Barshinger stressed that MTYRE is only one of a number of options the Board is investigating and that no decisions have been made. MTYRE is being considered only as a way to gain space and D41 has not made any assertions about the learning impact. Board President John Vivoda commented that all options carry costs. D41 has been able to pay for portable units out of its existing funds, but the board would have to seek voter approval for significant additional funds to implement any of the options, whether building new space, MTYRE or some other option.
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