Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Auburn board OKs rezoning

The Auburn City Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a rezoning plan that would move students from the system’s five existing elementary schools to create a student body for the new Richland Elementary School for next year.

December 12, 2007

The hallways of Auburn High School were bustling Tuesday night, not with students, but with parents gathering to talk about the disappointment of having to tell their young children that they will be attending new schools next year.

The Auburn City Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a rezoning plan that would move students from the system’s five existing elementary schools to create a student body for the new Richland Elementary School for next year. Construction of the new school is expected to be completed in February, according to Auburn Superintendent Dr. Terry Jenkins.

In order to receive state funding next year, Richland Elementary needs a student body of 263 students.  After rezoning, Richland is expected to have 287 students.

Now that the vote is over, both the board and the parents are moving on to the next step.  For parents, that means figuring out how to make the change work.

“I will have two kids on both sides of town now,” said Brian Mitchell, a resident of the Mill Creek subdivision.

His daughter is one of 34 students in the subdivision that attend Ogletree Elementary.  Next year, the students will move to Richland.

“(My daughter) wants to stay at Ogletree obviously,” he said.
Mitchell said his family bought their home in Mill Creek because they wanted their children to attend Ogletree.  His other child attends daycare closer to home, which will create problems in their routine next year.

One bright side, Mitchell said, is that his daughter won’t go through the change alone.

“The good news is the subdivision isn’t divided,” he said.
David Olive, a resident of Hamilton Hills, isn’t seeing much of a bright side to his daughter’s situation and said the fourth-grader was very upset to find out that she might be leaving Ogletree Elementary to move to Dean Road Elementary.

“As expected, my daughter burst into tears because she was looking forward to graduating from Ogletree,” he said.

During rezoning discussions, the board stressed the importance of maintaining a balance in the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunches at each school.
But Olive said he sees such moves as unnecessary.

He says his biggest concern is his daughter’s comfort. He told her that she could choose to attend Dean Road Elementary or be home-schooled.

“It would be easier if she went to (Richland) where everyone was equally new,” he said, “Now she’s going where people are already established.”

Parents also voiced concerns about safety, traffic problems and fears of declining property values.

Jenkins told parents that a turning lane is going to be built next to Richland Elementary and that he is ready to push for a red light to be put in place as well.

As far as traffic problems, Jenkins told parents about alternate routes that would avoid South College street.

He said the rezoning would have no impact on property value, citing growth after a similar rezoning in the 1990’s as an example.

Jenkins told the board that the next step will be staffing Richland Elementary with a principal and a mix of new and experienced teachers.

He said he expects the building to be ready in time for an open house in the spring when students and parents will have a chance to check out the new building and meet their teachers.
Jenkins said the comfort of students is very important and if there was a way to make everyone happy, he would have done it.

“You really truly wish you can draw a map that everybody would be happy with, but that’s just not possible,” he said.