The
Rochester school board voted 6 to 0 last night (with board member
Cynthia Elliott absent) to close School 16 in the 19th Ward, but only
for repairs. It will re-open after repairs are completed.
In
the interim, kindergarten through eighth-grade classes will be housed
at Freddie Thomas High School in northeast Rochester, beginning this
coming September. School 16’s pre-kindergarten classes will be
housed at the Walter Cooper Academy on Congress Avenue.
The
board’s decision went against the recommendation of Superintendent
Bolgen Vargas, who didn’t want to commit to repairing and
re-opening School 16. The costs to make the more than 100-year-old
building functional exceed $6 million, he says.
Vargas
proposed closing the school and deciding its fate later in the
context of a comprehensive review of all of the city’s schools.
Because of declining enrollment, he says, the district doesn’t need
all of its buildings. Vargas plans to give the board a report in
October that weighs the need for space against the cost of repairs
for some schools.
But
School 16 parents and residents of the 19th Ward were angry about the
prospect of closing School 16. Although few of them spoke last night,
about 60 attended the meeting, including City Councilmember Adam
McFadden. School 16, some parents said, is a much-needed neighborhood
school, and they received some encouragement from board member Mary
Adams. If parents and residents want neighborhood schools, she said,
they need to speak up in support of them.
The
board’s decision on School 16, however, didn’t please everyone.
Parents and teachers of the district’s Montessori school, which is
housed at Freddie Thomas, said school district officials are again
stepping back from their commitment to let the school have its own
designated space in that building. The small Montessori school, which
serves mostly younger children, was housed previously at Franklin
High School, which has served mostly older students and where
discipline problems have been a concern. While they support plans to
repair School 16, the Montessori parents and teacher said, they don’t
want that school’s students moved to Freddie Thomas.
“We’re
treated like the poor step-child,” said parent Harriet Fisher. The
school is one of a handful of schools in the district with a waiting
list of prospective students.
This article appears in Jul 25-31, 2012.
