Friday, February 27, 2009
By Jordan Cohen
NILES — The city school district is asking the public for its input in choosing one of two options for two new elementary schools to be constructed within the next five years.
The first option would divide the buildings into kindergarten through second grade in one facility and third-through-fifth grade in the other. In the second option, both buildings would house kindergarten through fifth grade.
Robert McAuliffe, project manager, presented the options at a public meeting Thursday at McKinley High School. About 45 people attended, but many were teachers, principals and members of the board of education.
“We are anxious to get your feedback,” McAuliffe said. “We’ll be getting site information, but we need nonscientific data, such as the concerns of the community.”
McAuliffe outlined advantages and disadvantages of both proposals, but it was clear where many of the teachers and administrators stand.
“The teachers in my building favor putting K to two in one building and three to five in the other,” said Jerome Gentile, principal of Bonham School, one of the four buildings to be demolished when the new schools are constructed. “Right now, class distribution hasn’t been equitable, and this change would be a better use of resources.”
Superintendent Rocco Adduci agreed. “In my view, K to two and three to five works out much better for the community.”
McAuliffe said one argument for keeping kindergarten through the fifth grade in both buildings would be its identification as a neighborhood school. However, during the nearly two-hour session, no one from the community or the schools spoke in favor of the standard K-5 option.
The other issue facing the district is the location of the new buildings. “We do plan to use existing school property,” McAuliffe said, “but we will need a 10-acre site at a minimum.
“Personally, I don’t like the Jackson [Elementary] site,” McAuliffe said. But he declined to give specifics when questioned by a member of the audience.