Schools

Officials Approve Funding For Facilities Plan, Reject Full-Day Kindergarten

The Summit Board of School Estimate rejected the full-day kindergarten proposal, but approved the Five-Year Plan that includes upgrades to several school facilities.

The Summit Board of School Estimate approved more than $17 million in funding for the school district's Five-Year Facilities Plan, which includes major upgrades to the middle and high school as well as additions to Franklin and Jefferson elementary schools.

Nearly 75 residents packed into council chambers in city hall Monday night as Superintendent of Schools Nathan Parker and other officials explained the elements of the five-year capital improvement plan.

The facilities plan will address several issues throughout the district including security and overcrowding at Franklin School; space needs, safety, security and sanitation at Jefferson School; boiler replacement at Summit High School and auditorium and science lab upgrades at Summit Middle School.

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Speaking about security issues at Franklin and Jefferson, Parker explained that when visitors are buzzed into the school by the office staff, they bypass the main office and have access to the school building.

"For those of you who have been to the school, you know that you're buzzed in and once you're inside, you have free passage throughout the building," the superintendent said, adding that the situation is similar at Jefferson.

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At least 30 residents representing Jefferson School — dressed in green, which is one of the school colors — attended the meeting to show their support for the plan. Parker addressed some of the issues at Jefferson — which recently prompted parents to start a petition on Change.org with a list of necessary upgrades for Jefferson in hopes of convincing officials to see to it that the school gets the funding it needs.

Among the concerns are the steep, sloping asphalt drive leading from the back of the school, which parents say is dangerous, especially in icy weather. In addition, there is an electrical transformer situated right on the grassy hill where children play. Residents are also concerned about the school's restrooms. Younger female students have to climb a couple of sets of stairs to reach them, and parents say additional facilities are needed.

"There's just not enough bathrooms there," Parker said. "It's very inappropriate and not very safe."

The superintendent also said the classrooms at Jefferson are not appropriately set up for children with certain types of special needs, such as those who fall in various places on the autism spectrum. In addition, one-third of the cafeteria at Jefferson is used as instruction space.

"There are real space isues there," Parker said.

Michael Wozny, the director of educational projects for EI Associates, the architects handling the project, said the goal of the project has been to take the priority issues that have been identified and develop them. He said all of the budgets include "soft costs," such as design and bonding fees as well as other costs associated with the project beyond the actual construction.

One controversial element of the five-year facilities plan that was rejected by the board involved the full-day kindergarten proposal. Supporters of the program, such as board member Edgar Mokuvos, claim that having a full-day program addresses "common core state standards."

"You cannot meet the goals of the common core state standards with a half-day program," Mokuvos said, adding that while there is no penalty for not meeting these standards, it's important for Summit to avoid being "sub-standard."

Board president George Lucaci called full-day kindergarten a "critical program for this community."

"To me, it's absolutely amazing that we don't look at the long-term value of early education," Lucaci said.

And while supporters view full-day kindergarten as a long-term investment, detractors see it as an unnecessary expense.

"I did not bring any pictures of Summit taxpayers' wallets with me tonight, but they're a lot like our schools — threadbare," said Thomas Garvey of the Summit Taxpayers Association.

In addition to the $5,050,000 cost to expand the facilities to make room for the program, full-day kindergarten would have cost taxpayers just over $1 million a year to administer and maintain. Some officials say there are numerous private full-day kindergarten programs in Summit and the school district should consider working with those schools to make sure that children in Summit schools have followed the necessary curriculum before advancing to first grade.

According to officials, construction is slated to begin on the facilities in the summer of 2014. Sone elements of the project will be completed by the fall of that year — such as the installation of the new boiler at the high school. The rest of the improvements are tentatively scheduled to be completed by 2016. Click HERE for drawings of the expansion plans, an overview of the Five-Year Facilities Plan and the cost estimate breakdown.


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