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Overcast No. 6 gets deep-sixed
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Many residents, who are alumni of the school or have children there, were upset with the board's decision. "It's a place where childhood memories are made and started, where friends establish a relationship with their peers and teachers," said Nicole Eras, an eighth-grader at Lawrence Middle School who graduated from the Number Six School three years ago. "It's absolutely ridiculous to think about [the school board] closing the Number Six School building."
Under the board's plan, all first- through fourth-graders will be placed in the two remaining elementary schools, the Number Two School in Inwood and the Number Five School in Cedarhurst. Pre-K and kindergarten students will remain at the Number Four School. The total estimated savings for the district will be $7.45 million.
"This has been a culmination of a two-year process," said board President Murray Forman. "We have been discussing consolidation for a long time, and adopted the plan to go through with it this year. It was emotional and very difficult to pick a school, but we needed to look at ways to keep programs in the district and still save money"
The Number Six School is the district's only elementary building that is wheelchair-accessible. It is the newest building in the district, and also has the largest gymnasium of the three elementary schools.
Marcia Ringelheim, co-president of the Lawrence PTA, said that the board failed everyone in the district with this consolidation plan. "I don't understand in good conscience how the board could have made this decision with everything that the Number Six School has to offer," Ringelheim said. "It has the largest fields, a big gym, sufficient parking and is wheelchair-accessible. It doesn't make any sense."
Number Six School phys. ed. teacher Gale Frommling said that the gyms in the other elementary schools are too small to handle more students and meet state standards. "The facilities are just not big enough to handle the capacity that it will now be forced to hold," Frommling said.
Under the board's plan, all first- through fourth-graders will be placed in the two remaining elementary schools, the Number Two School in Inwood and the Number Five School in Cedarhurst. Pre-K and kindergarten students will remain at the Number Four School. The total estimated savings for the district will be $7.45 million.
"This has been a culmination of a two-year process," said board President Murray Forman. "We have been discussing consolidation for a long time, and adopted the plan to go through with it this year. It was emotional and very difficult to pick a school, but we needed to look at ways to keep programs in the district and still save money"
The Number Six School is the district's only elementary building that is wheelchair-accessible. It is the newest building in the district, and also has the largest gymnasium of the three elementary schools.
Marcia Ringelheim, co-president of the Lawrence PTA, said that the board failed everyone in the district with this consolidation plan. "I don't understand in good conscience how the board could have made this decision with everything that the Number Six School has to offer," Ringelheim said. "It has the largest fields, a big gym, sufficient parking and is wheelchair-accessible. It doesn't make any sense."
Number Six School phys. ed. teacher Gale Frommling said that the gyms in the other elementary schools are too small to handle more students and meet state standards. "The facilities are just not big enough to handle the capacity that it will now be forced to hold," Frommling said.
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