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06/10/2007
Tough choicesTCAPS faces emotional decision in closing up to 3 elementaries
Students leave Willow Hill Elementary last week at the end of the school day. TRAVERSE CITY — Heather Budnik studied the numbers that will decide the fate of her children's school and concluded something was missing. Budnik, the mother of two students at Glenn Loomis Elementary, recognizes that Traverse City Area Public Schools administrators face complex choices as they contemplate closing up to three elementary buildings in fall 2008. But Budnik contends the worth of a school community can't be boiled down to mere statistics. "Emotional value does weigh in a little bit,” she said. "It's not that easy.” District administrators recently held public forums at nine elementary schools and presented the criteria they will use in picking what buildings to close. The decisions are part of a plan to maintain programs and small class sizes in the face of budget shortfalls and declining enrollment. Parents at Glenn Loomis pointed to the Oak Street school's significant number of single-parent families and at-risk students, arguing that the disruption of a school closing could be harmful for them. Similar discussions are playing out all over the district, said David Dean, TCAPS assistant superintendent. "We've tried to share the information with them in a very objective way so they know what it is the board and administration will be wrestling with when they make these decisions,” he said. "What we're hearing from people is that they have other criteria they would like us to consider.” Standards established by the school board include walkability, historical significance, enrollment, renovation costs, transportation implications, open enrollment figures and the number of students who would be displaced. Other items are proximity to non-TCAPS public schools, the value of property for other uses and the size and flexibility of the building and site for TCAPS purposes. The board already eliminated six elementary schools from closing consideration. Old Mission and Traverse Heights recently were reconstructed using bond funds, and the other four schools — Silver Lake, Westwoods, Courtade and Blair — are the newest of the district's 15 elementary buildings. Parents campaign Lauren Snowday tied a red ribbon around the tree in front of her house on Elmwood Avenue to support Willow Hill Elementary, where her daughter attends kindergarten. The symbol was part of a campaign by the Slabtown Neighborhood Association to keep the school open. Snowday said Willow Hill scores positively on the closing criteria and that location should work in its favor. Munson Medical Center and a fire station are nearby, and the school is nestled at the end of a cul de sac that sees little drive-through traffic. "Its safety features are unparalleled,” she said. "It's near where people live, it's near where people work.” Location also is a plus at Interlochen Community School, where parent Sue Stiglich said the curriculum is enhanced by collaboration with the Interlochen Center for the Arts and a new TCAPS Chinese immersion preschool program. "Families that are coming to Traverse City seem to be settling more on the west side,” Stiglich said. But Derek Christenson, a parent at Bertha Vos Elementary in Acme, said TCAPS shouldn't give up on its east-side schools. "The east side has got huge potential for development,” he said. "I don't think they're taking that into account.” Norris Elementary is located just off M-22 on Cherry Bend Road and is the only TCAPS school situated in Leelanau County. Karen Kyser said her three children have many classmates there who travel from Suttons Bay. "Where are those people going to go?” Kyser said. "I also think there are other schools that need to be renovated before Norris.” Julie Tripp's two children attend Cherry Knoll Elementary, a school on Three Mile Road that last year celebrated its 50th anniversary and is one of two filled-to-capacity TCAPS elementary buildings being considered for closure. "We've got a pretty big historical community backing. But that's also one of our bad points, too. We need to be reconstructed, and that costs money,” Tripp said. "We have absorbed kids from all three schools that (previously) closed. To reshuffle those kids again if we were to close would be bad.” In the Central Grade neighborhood, where residents successfully lobbied city commissioners to support the school on West Seventh Street, the argument centers on the building's 124-year heritage. Amy Schwert, a parent who also works as an aide at Central, said the school's 142 open-enrolled students demonstrate that parents value it as an option. "When I looked at the data, the one thing that was missing is the school is located where people are employed,” she said. "We choose to live here, to get that benefit of living in a neighborhood where our kids can walk to school with their friends and be part of that community.” Eastern Elementary parent Ann Porter said potential impact on the neighborhood's property values also should carry weight. "We have a community school that has shown high excellence, and that is a huge draw to the area,” she said. "If it's closed, it's going to affect a lot more than the children who go to the school. I think a lot of the families will go to non-public schools.” Terra Walters, the mother of three students at Long Lake Elementary, said parents understand why the district must close schools but they are worried about the impact. Teachers at the school on North Long Lake Road used grant funds to implement an "artful thinking” philosophy, and closing the building would break up that successful program, she said. "It's very gut-wrenching as a parent thinking about your school closing, and it's a huge change for kids,” she said. "These decisions are going to affect everyone. The building may remain, but the population probably will change.” Community feedback a factor School closings are part of districtwide master plan devised by a 100-member steering committee. The school board endorsed the plan in May and could consider closure recommendations as soon as July. Board President Gerald Morris said the community's feedback will factor into his final decision. "The worst thing that can happen is for us to have to close schools,” he said. "We're trying as hard as we can to make sure that people are getting informed and we are getting their input.” No schools will close until the fall of 2008, when the district's ninth-graders will move to the high schools and sixth-graders will attend junior high. The change will decrease the TCAPS elementary population by about 700 students, or the approximate enrollment of two buildings. The district's east-west boundary will shift this fall to balance enrollment at Central and West high schools. The TCAPS Montessori program also will move by 2008-09 from Central Grade to an elementary school that is closed or slated for closure. Board member David Barr said the goal of the latest round of public meetings was to find out what closing criteria matters most to parents and the community. "If the public is responding to that list of criteria and adding their own comments, that's exactly what we want,” he said. District figures estimate that each elementary school closing would save about $500,000 per year. The steering committee defined a school "closing” as removing a TCAPS educational program from a building. Plans for closed buildings have not yet been determined.
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