The Emporia Gazette

Wrong priorities

I agree teachers are more important than buildings. But instructional space is important too. Why move students to buildings that don't have room for them?

December 17, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Wrong priorities

The closet and storage space instruction is about to get much worse! The Gazette should write an article about how many fifth grade classrooms will be housed in each elementary building and where they'll go. Since there are no empty classroom at Village where will they put the fifth graders? They have the same issue in other elementary buildings. The committee and BOE in their infinite wisdom voted to move the fifth graders. They should be required to say exactly which classrooms they will use and which teachers/students will be moved to hallways, storage areas, and closets.

December 17, 2010 at 8:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Uses for Lowther building

I agree. TPLC is a good program! But to move the fifth grade kids to schools that don't have room for them is ridiculous.

December 16, 2010 at 3:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Uses for Lowther building

LSIS is going to be used by the district for Turning Point. Just watch. It will be fun to see them justify "closing" it for fifth grade but keeping it open for WAY fewer kids.

December 16, 2010 at 9:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Lowther buildings to close, middle school will see addition

I agree with genxer. The BOE needs to answer some questions. Where will the fifth grade classes go when the buildings are full? There are NO empty rooms at Village yet four sections are supposed to go there. It's not the only building without space for fifth grade classes.

The BOE approved Turning Point for K-12. The rumor is that the BOE plans to move Turning Point to LSIS to give them more space. How can they justify keeping that building open for Turning Point yet not for the fifth grade? There is something really odd going on and the board members are not being honest.

December 15, 2010 at 11:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Lowther buildings to close, middle school will see addition

So far there are three schools that were deemed too old and too costly to fix and use; Mary Herbert, Kansas Avenue, and Maynard. All three are still being used by the district and money has been spent to fix them up. Most recently Mary Herbert went through a big renovation and upgrade when the BOE staff moved there. So now they have a plan that will over-crowd the elementary buildings and EMS to avoid the cost of the upgrades needed at LSIS and LNIS. My money says at least one of those buildings will be used and guess what? They will spend money on upgrades! The whole thing is just ridiculous! It would be great to pin down the BOE members at a future meeting and ask them to guarantee they will sell or lease the two Lowther buildings. It would be fun to watch them stammer their way through that conversation!!!

December 13, 2010 at 8:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Lowther buildings to close, middle school will see addition

Stop with the "It's for the kids" and transitions argument. The transitions were not a problem for most kids. It was a few kids and the parents that grew up with K-6 that thought the world was ending because of the LSIS/LNIS set up. The benefit of reducing transitions (if there even is one) will be completely offset by the over-crowding at the elementary buildings and EMS. Back to specialized instructions in hallways, closets, and storage areas! Not good! The gym problem at EMS and serving lunch for 2.5 hours a day is ridiculous! And what are they doing about parking at EMS and the traffic issues? This will all cost more money.

December 11, 2010 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Emporia Master Teacher named

Congrats to Janice! A great lady and a wonderful teacher.

December 10, 2010 at 6:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Committee: Close both Lowthers

Well said, Steve!!! Glad you pointed out it was decided the transitions were fine not that long ago. People need to stop pushing the transition issue. It is not a big deal. There are a handful of kids that struggle with changing buildings but that shouldn't be the deciding factor for all kids and the cost involved. For every child it comes down to desire to learn, support from home, and the staff...NOT the building. This transition "crisis" is just another way for the BOE to justify the changes they want in place. People need to email and call the BOE members. If you go the district website you can find the link for BOE members. Their email and phone numbers are listed.

December 8, 2010 at 5:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Committee: Close both Lowthers

I was on the publicity committee for the bond issue when the two new elementary schools were built. The theme we used was 'Room to Grow." We chose that because the elementary schools were so overcrowded. Special area teachers such as Speech, O.T, Hearing/Vision, Title Reading & Math, Special Education, etc. were working with kids in storage closets, hallways, and any nook or cranny they could find. So now this committee has proposed a big step backward for the district. Moving the fifth grade back to the elementary schools will cause the same over-crowding issues faced before.

Also, there was a lot more done than painting in the two Lowther buildings. New carpet in the offices/classrooms, paint, blinds, other flooring replaced, new office furniture, and more. At Lowther South there was extensive renovation in the basement taking out the old locker rooms and adding new restrooms, an art room, and a therapy room for children with disabilities. What a waste!

December 7, 2010 at 8:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )