By Carrie James
As part of the package, district officials have proposed an $8.5M proposed bond referendum that will help them renovate and possibly expand the district's three schools and administration building.. The remaining $1.5 million is sitting in the bank ready to be used on the projects, district officials said.
"It's a very important meeting," said District 30 School Board President Richard Eisenberg. "It's a public discussion of a proposal that we have been working on for a year now. We want to expand the facilities of our schools and we are asking the residents to pass a bond issue to cover the costs of the proposed construction. If we don't do this the population will get where we won't have appropriate class size and class space."
The district's population has grown by almost 500 students in the 11 years that Superintendent Lawrence McGoldrick has served there. The current population is more than 1,550 students and continues to grow, he said. Demographers have projected that growth will continue to 2006.
"Each of our schools is used above 100 percent of its capacity," McGoldrick said. "Music and art classes are on carts. ESL is in the hallways because there isn't enough classroom space."
Parents present at the meeting said this proposal came as no surprise and welcomed the district's open discussion of it.
"I think everyone knows we need the space," said Shaw Avenue PTA co-president Rosann Colucci. "I think it's a great proposal and I believe it's a positive step for the district."
The proposed construction, McGoldrick said, would lessen the space crunch and lower class sizes, plus two of the schools would receive a new media center and computer lab.
At Clear Stream Elementary School, construction isn't possible, McGoldrick said during the presentation, due to a potential negative environmental impact.
Unfortunately, Clear Stream is also the smallest school in the district and has just as much of a growth problem as Shaw Avenue and Forest Road elementary schools.
"We can't expand Clear Stream anymore because of the [environmental issues] so we had to come up with a creative solution to solve the growth issue at this school," McGoldrick said.
If the bond referendum passes, Clear Stream Elementary will house grades one through six. Kindergartners who would have attended Clear Stream would attend the Washington Avenue "K" Center, which is currently the administration building. This move, McGoldrick said, will enable Clear Stream to gain three classrooms. The only work at the school, interior modifications to the kindergarten classes to make them more appropriate for first- through sixth-grade classes, will cost roughly $11,800.
Both Forest Road and Shaw Avenue elementary schools will see building additions as well as interior renovations.
Forest Road's renovations and new construction will cost approximately $3.1 million and include converting library and computer lab space into two classrooms, construction of four new classrooms and a new media center and computer room.
Shaw Avenue Elementary's cost is a little higher at $5.7 million, but uses the rarely used courtyard space to house a new media center, computer lab, restrooms and three additional classrooms. The school will also receive a reconstructed auditorium, other space converted into two classrooms and new storage space.
The new classroom space at this school, McGoldrick said, will allow art, ESL, music and reading specialists to have their own space to hold class, one-on-one teaching or intervention programs.
Part of the Shaw Avenue school proposal, McGoldrick added, would be to put all academic instruction on the same level. Currently, at least one classroom is on the second level.
The administration building, 150 Washington Ave., as mentioned before, will undergo a renovation and addition under the proposal to accommodate Clear Stream's kindergarten classes. The cost will be about $1.2 million. The space will be converted into kindergarten classrooms, a nurse's office and an office for administration. District 30 also has plans to build an addition that will serve as a general purpose room, and install a new playground and parking lot.
"It's very unfortunate that the children have to move, but this is not an option and we find this is the best way to go," McGoldrick said.
Eisenberg said the district has yet to decide where the district administration offices will go. The board has tossed around the idea of renting or buying office space, or even building onto Forest Road's campus.
"The board has discussed it and we are not there yet," he said. "We need to explore it further. The only school that has enough space is Forest Road, but the board is not sure yet. We have the concern that to place it there might be too far for many of our residents at the other schools."
It is possible, Eisenberg said, that once the board decides where to go and what action to take, the district might have to adjust the bond proposal a little to account for the cost to move. However, he expects everything should be firm by September when school starts.
District 30 has said it plans to ask residents to pass a referendum for 20-year bonds in an amount not to exceed $8.5 million, on Oct. 15. Officials said they will spend the next two months working hard to convince and show that this construction and bond issue are necessary to continue educating children effectively.
If passed, Eisenberg said a homeowner whose house is assessed at $5,500 would pay an extra $50 a year on the school portion of their property tax bill, something at least some parents said is reasonable.
"I feel the bond issue represents a necessary action," said Linda Kettering, Forest Road Elementary PTA co-president. "The relatively low cost of $50 a year is a negligible amount to pay in comparison to the benefit to the school district and children. I think every homeowner can afford $1 a week and put it into the community."
If passed, work would start summer 2002 with the renovation of the Washington Center for the kindergartners, which Eisenberg said is the most necessary portion of the proposal. By the following summer, he said construction will have started on Forest Road and Shaw Avenue schools.
"We hope that 24 months from now the great majority of the work would be done," he said. "So one year from now Clear Stream would be alleviated and two years from now all schools in the district would be in good shape."
There will be a meeting at Shaw Avenue School's library at 7 p.m. Aug. 6 to discuss the environmental review of the proposed projects. The board will vote whether to move forward on the referendum in late August.
