Keep Neal open, say Mathews parents

By JORDAN COHEN

news@vindy.com

VIENNA

Nearly 70 people, most of them parents of Mathews School District students, told the board of education in no uncertain terms that they are against closing Neal Middle School in September and moving its seventh- and eighth-graders into Mathews High School.

The group crowded into the high school cafeteria earlier this week for the board’s second work session of the month to discuss options for moving the students. No one in the audience spoke in favor of the plans.

“We feel like this decision is being rushed, and you’re scrambling to put a square peg in a round circle,” said Kathleen DiTomasso, one of the parents.

Superintendent Lee Seiple had presented a new option in which several rooms in the high school would be modified to house the middle-school students without the board’s having to purchase modular classrooms.

Seiple said this new plan would cost “less than the modular,” but when he acknowledged he could not present exact cost figures, several of the parents became angry.

“[Your] homework hasn’t been done,” said parent Mark Grimes. “We want accurate numbers and hard-core facts.”

“If you close Neal, you will lose the opportunity to pass that renewal levy,” said Michael Kennedy, a junior varsity baseball coach, to the applause of the audience. The district has a reduced replacement levy of 7.8 mills on the May ballot.

Many of the parents objected to the “commingling” of middle-school and high-school students. Sandra Webber, president of Mathews Education Association, the union that represents the district’s 66 teachers, agreed.

Board President Kenneth Wallace and board member David Wise explained that the school district faces a $1 million deficit in two years, and keeping Neal open will add to the district’s financial problems.

“We’re not trying to sell this to anyone, but there is a definite sense of urgency here,” Wallace said. “There is no perfect option.”

During the work session earlier this month, Seiple said closing Neal would save the district more than $800,000

Several parents called for the board to keep the middle school open one more year while it has more time to determine where the students should be housed and what the change will cost. They will not have to wait long for an answer.

The board’s next regular meeting is Tuesday, and Wallace said a decision will be made at that session.