Finally the Eagle-Gazette comes to a PLAD board meeting. They get some of it right and they get some of it wrong. As to what they got wrong I would ask the reporter to state where she got the information that moving middle school out of Heritage will free up 19-20 classrooms? Have any of you been to Heritage? I have and so have my kids. There is no way you will free up more then 10 classrooms, MAX by moving the middle school students out.
Also another question that begs to be asked ?– Say you park a bunch more portables at Diley and Harmon, do you have adequate cafeteria, gymnasium and bathroom space left over? What about special ed and art and all the rest. By adding students to these schools that aren?’t designed for them, are you creating a whole new problem?
How about it Board of Education? Got any answers?
Originally published January 25, 2006
Pickerington considers redistricting as school-crowding solution
By ALAINA FAHY
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
afahy@nncogannett.com
PICKERINGTON - During the two Pickerington high schools' graduation ceremonies in June, seniors giving speeches talked about the heartbreak of being separated from best friends as one high school became two.
The Pickerington Local Schools Board of Education is considering moving students and faculty again.
At a meeting Monday night, school board members discussed short-term options for coping with growth during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years.
One option was redistricting. The board talked about dividing at least 251 fifth- and sixth-grade students at Heritage Middle School between Diley and Harmon Middle Schools. The board predicts about 32 additional students at Heritage Middle School by next year.
''It's a difficult situation,'' Pickerington Schools' Superintendent Robert Thiede said about the growth in the district. ''There are no clear-cut solutions.''
The redistricting would help provide the 19 to 20 additional classrooms needed to accommodate kindergarten through fourth-grade students at Heritage Elementary School.
Diley and Harmon middle schools would need a total of five modular classroom units to accommodate additional students from Heritage, Thiede said.
Board member Jim Brink said he thinks new modular units cost about $75,000 to $90,000. And set-up for electricity and heat per unit can cost about $20,000.
Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle are next door to each other at 100 East St., Pickerington.
Brink said the two schools could combine to be one elementary school if plans are made to redistrict.
Brink said the board is only beginning discussion on redistricting. No plans are official. He said students' home addresses would determine whether they go to Diley or Harmon middle schools.
He was not sure how the teachers would be reassigned to other schools.
No lines for redistricting are in place right now, Brink said.
Also another question that begs to be asked ?– Say you park a bunch more portables at Diley and Harmon, do you have adequate cafeteria, gymnasium and bathroom space left over? What about special ed and art and all the rest. By adding students to these schools that aren?’t designed for them, are you creating a whole new problem?
How about it Board of Education? Got any answers?
Originally published January 25, 2006
Pickerington considers redistricting as school-crowding solution
By ALAINA FAHY
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
afahy@nncogannett.com
PICKERINGTON - During the two Pickerington high schools' graduation ceremonies in June, seniors giving speeches talked about the heartbreak of being separated from best friends as one high school became two.
The Pickerington Local Schools Board of Education is considering moving students and faculty again.
At a meeting Monday night, school board members discussed short-term options for coping with growth during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years.
One option was redistricting. The board talked about dividing at least 251 fifth- and sixth-grade students at Heritage Middle School between Diley and Harmon Middle Schools. The board predicts about 32 additional students at Heritage Middle School by next year.
''It's a difficult situation,'' Pickerington Schools' Superintendent Robert Thiede said about the growth in the district. ''There are no clear-cut solutions.''
The redistricting would help provide the 19 to 20 additional classrooms needed to accommodate kindergarten through fourth-grade students at Heritage Elementary School.
Diley and Harmon middle schools would need a total of five modular classroom units to accommodate additional students from Heritage, Thiede said.
Board member Jim Brink said he thinks new modular units cost about $75,000 to $90,000. And set-up for electricity and heat per unit can cost about $20,000.
Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle are next door to each other at 100 East St., Pickerington.
Brink said the two schools could combine to be one elementary school if plans are made to redistrict.
Brink said the board is only beginning discussion on redistricting. No plans are official. He said students' home addresses would determine whether they go to Diley or Harmon middle schools.
He was not sure how the teachers would be reassigned to other schools.
No lines for redistricting are in place right now, Brink said.
