Posted by KRM2015 on December 22, 2015, 5:01 pm, in reply to "Re: Attitude check?"
"Tonight we met w/board member Kathy Hagnauer.
Unfortunately, I still do not have all the answers.
Mrs. Hagnauer said discussions about this plan have been going on since April.
Today, I read all the minutes of the board meetings starting in April. I would not recommend doing this, b/c u will not find any information.
So even if you had attended every board meeting, you still would not have known about this redistribution plan.
From what I understand, there is an administration team made up of school district employees (superintendent, director of finances, director of transportation, etc).
This team delivers the information to the board members in what is referred to as "pocket meetings". I believe these meetings can contain no more than 2 board members at a time.
According to Ms. Hagnauer, the board members do not have all the details (specific locations, financial info, etc) and will be hearing the full plan for the 1st time at the 1/12/16 meeting. (Why the board members wouldn't just say they didn't know all the details, instead of acting like it was privileged information ? I don't know).
The board has neither confirmed nor denied that a vote will take place at the 1/12 meeting. It appears they will determine that after the presentation on 1/12.
So if you have concerns u want to address before the vote takes place, it is crucial that you be at that meeting.
However, the below info is what I was given as to the prospective plan.
I thank Ms Hagnauer for her time.
-Close Worthen School has the smallest # of classrooms
-Move ECC and K to Prather No financial info, but told minimal retrofitting & repairs would need to be made. ECC would have its own wing of building, as would K.
-Make 2 of the elementary schools 1st & 2nd grade only. No possible locations discussed.
-Make 2 of the elementary schools 3rd & 4th grade only. No possible locations discussed.
-The board office is not contemplating a move at this time
-There are no current plans for any vacant property.
Casey Estrada: So not that you know but how is this effective? I don't understand the whole 1 or 2 grades per building
Amanda Cunningham: Honestly, the whole thing sounds convoluted and, well, nonsensical. What do I know, though.
Amanda Cunningham: I have 3 children in the system and my youngest will be in a year. I'm not thrilled.
Ashley Christine Chepely: if the board isnt planning on moving into the ECC building why are they not just leaving it alone? i dont understand why they would leave the building vacant when things seem to be going smoothly there. at this point i do not have a child in the district but i will in the upcoming years and this all is very concerning for me.
Candace Hood: I think the costs of actually running the building. Things like electric, water,etc. Maybe even State issues I don't know about like meal plans and amount of students per building? Who knows. Only thing that could sound reasonable to me would be it being cost effective.
Ashley Christine Chepely: thats my only thinking too. im just nervous for when avery starts going to preschool that its gonna be a mess. mike was already leery of our school district and this isnt helping much frown emoticon
Candace Hood: I think we all have the same concerns. We're all crazy over our babies and want the best for them!!I want to stay here in Granite when we purchase a home, and the district is what my decision will be based on so I'm hoping for the best and trying to understand things even if I cannot agree with them.
Ashley Christine Chepely: that will be what we base it on too. i actually told mike today that from what ive looked up bethalto has a great school system but because of our state being so crazy, this could essentially happen at any school district that wont vote to raise taxes
Candace Hood: Me too! I plan on going, let's go smile emoticon
Ashley Christine Chepely: yay! we have a date! smile emoticon
Dan Mercer: The only thing that would really change is location from its current location to Prather.
Yes, the main benefit is cost savings by shuttering another building.
Ashley Christine Chepely: i get that but im just thinking so they then have a building that is just going to sit vacant when to my understanding they just did renovations for the ECC building within the past few years or so. so what would then happen to the current ECC building i guess is what im wondering.
Erica Stone: Special education offices are located at ECC too.
Ashley Christine Chepely: so will they be moved to prather too?
Dan Mercer: You're not wrong. They did renovations 8 years ago. However, that money is gone. You can't use that as an excuse to continue with extra expenses if you can find a suitable alternative.
Prather was the original location for ECC. There's supposedly not going to be many retrofitting needed.
Erica Stone: I'm not sure!
Ashley Christine Chepely: Its a very large school, thats actually where i went to preschool 25 years ago. and i understand they need to save money somewhere but from what ive seen and heard from parents this isnt going to be acceptable for their families, especially when they h...See More
Dan Mercer: Those parents are shooting down a proposal before they even hear it. I understand the reasoning for skepticism.
The schools start at different times, and if they do switch to an attendance center model, I'd imagine that busses would be available for ...See More
Ashley Christine Chepely: i completely agree! they are shooting it down before they hear anything (im skeptical but again i dont have children in the district yet) and im afraid there is going to be a very large turnout buuuut i dont think its going to go very well. people are ...See More
Linda Haug: Im not trying to shoot anything down but I'll say this, for me, the start and dismiss times does not solve the issue of having to drop off/pick up from multiple location. The problem is, it can take 20 minutes or longer to even get to your kid for p...See More
Dan Mercer: Linda, if you can show up to the meeting on January 12 and present that complaint, please do.
Linda Haug: Thanks Dan. I would be glad to share the thought. Its not so much a complaint as a concern for the new plan.
Dan Mercer: You should also present these fears beforehand if you can. I don't know that the meeting will be a round table discussion.
Linda Haug: How can i go about doing that before hand?
Terri Crystal: Dan who do we parents present our concerns with for the meeting? This would be a great start for us parents to start sending emails!
Karla Schank: I work at Frohardt, have a son that goes to Worthen, and have to pick-up my preschooler at the ECC. I get through all of that traffic in less than half an hour. That being said, it will take longer if I have to go out to Prather for the ECC but it is still manageable. I was panicking about it at the beginning of the year when my transfer was denied but it has worked out just fine.
Dan Mercer: The best bet is to reach out to the members of the board. There are several of them that are members of this community and are very active on here.
Others are not on Facebook at all (not their cup of tea. No reason to hold that against him) to the bes...See More
Dan Mercer: Karla is there a reason you don't utilize the buses? I have three children of my own and they may very well be at different schools.
Barbara Guithues: My son gets home at an unreasonable time when he rides the bus. Many parents are also uneasy with the supervision on the busses. As far as where a building is located being just four walls???? Area is very important to some people. My children are ...See More
Karla Schank: Dan, the ECC doesn't provide busing for student unless they have special needs and for my son at Worthen, it is just easier for me to pick him up. I have really found it not much of a hassle at all.
Karla Schank: If you wait until a few minutes after dismissal and let the traffic clear out a bit it is way easier. I know at Frohardt and at Worthen there is an adult standing outside with the kids so I don't about them waiting a few minutes.
Liz Nordike: I hope everyone can attend the meeting with a level head ready to listen and ask questions with the greater good for ALL of the students in mind. We have a good school system look around at other local districts the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Dan Mercer: Copying and excerpt from another post from Bill Mcmasters so that it is seen by as many as possible:
BRING YOUR QUESTIONS............BUT REMEMBER YOU DO NEED TO BE ON THE AGENDA TO SPEAK AND THAT WILL REQUIRE THE EFFORT TO GO TO THE BOARD OFFICE AND ASK TO BE ON THE AGENDA.
Jackie Brooks: Thanks for sticking your neck out and getting some info for all of us parents katie!
Ruth Schumacher Martinez: Thanks for sharing, Katie, it's a tough time with dwindling enrollments. It will be good to hear more data at the January meeting.
Dave Cook: Thank you for the info Katie!!
Missy Gilmore: I do not like the thought of this happening.. My husband and I bought our house in a certain area because we wanted our kids to go to that specific school and now my youngest could end up anywhere next year and then another school the following year... No, I don't agree with that.. I am sorry but I find this ludicrous!!!
Regina Warren: My husband and I did the same with our son. Now we have another little one and by time she's starting Kindergarten, we're going to have to go to Prather to drop her off, then Grigsby to drop our son off. Ridiculous!
Erin Renee: We did the same also.
Linda Haug: This is insane. I'd like to know how grouping the grades in schools is going to save money. Next year I'll have a kindergartener, 2nd grader and 5th grader. If they go to granite schools, pickup/drop off for them is in 3 different places. I would think this is gonna be more expensive for bus transportation for the district also for those kids that do ride the bus.
Casey Estrada: thats what I said too
Rich Skirball: This is a very important point Linda. Thank you for bringing that to light.
Matt Jones and Bill Mcmasters please consider these points in discussions. I know you two are working very hard to make responsible, tough decisions but this is one MAJOR conce...See More
Lauren Shepard: Thanks Katie!
Darrel Comer: Worthen is next to that Church the board rents out isn't it?
Matt Jones: Yes the board leases out that fairly small building to the church.
Vickie Simmons Jacobs: The school board needs to plan carefully. GC schools were a big reason folks stayed in our city instead of moving up on the bluffs. I know edwardsville moves their kids like this. Maybe everybody gets a bus. I do know one thing I cherish is the memories of all my Nameoki school friends and good times. Bunching the kids all together might make it harder on them to make and keep lasting friends.
Bill Mcmasters: Vickie as I said above........ It might prove helpful to gain some insight as to how this will work by talking to some parents in surrounding schools.....it will also help to firm up questions you want addressed at the jan. 12 Board meeting...Surround...See More
Bill Mcmasters: without information we only have emotion so please talk with surrounding parents and bring questions"
on December 22, 2015, 5:01 pm, in reply to "