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School
boundary issue
may be put on hold |
Costly Mabel Rush construction could require
district to shift students temporarily to Joan Austin
Elementary to speed up process |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
With new school boundaries currently under discussion, and construction
going on all over the district, a new problem has cropped up causing the Newberg school
board to rethink some of its decisions.
“The organization,” said Claudia Stewart, communications specialist
for the Newberg School district, “has discussed with the staff the possibility of
relocating Mabel Rush Elementary (teachers and students) to the new Joan Austin
(elementary school) for one year to allow for construction at Mabel Rush.”
Construction never began on Mabel Rush, Ewing Young and Mountain View Middle
School, all part of bid package that was submitted and rejected by the school board last
June when bids came in $1.5 million over budget.
The idea for relocation of Mabel Rush Elementary Students will be proposed,
she said, as a possible way to lower those costs when the bid is resubmitted in early
November.
Stewart said construction at Mabel Rush could be easier, cheaper and safer if
students were not in the building at the time of construction. According to the current
plan, contractors would have to shift students from one classroom to another while work is
done on the roof, ventilation and electrical system. Crews would also work at night.
If the proposal is accepted, Mabel Rush students would spend one school year
at Austin Elementary, which is expected to be completed in September 2005.
“We’ll be discussing the entire proposed plan,” Stewart said,
adding that the school district has not yet been presented with the proposal. Parents will
be given more information after the district has had a chance to look over the idea and
make comments on whether it’s valid.
In addition, parents of children in the district interested in information
about proposed boundary changes may attend a round table discussion which begins at 6:30
p.m. Monday at Chehalem Valley Middle School, 403 W. Foothills Drive.
The school board meeting will follow at 7 p.m. The board is expected to
discuss the Mabel Rush proposal at the meeting. Proposed boundaries and parent comments
will be presented, as well.
The first round of boundary open houses are over, Stewart said. “We had
a constant flow of people coming in to look at maps, look at the proposals and give
comments.
Comments ranged from keeping the current boundary to accepting the idea of
dividing middle school feeder schools geographically and only allowing grandfathering for
one year after new boundaries take effect.
“I think the boundary task force received excellent feedback from
parents,” Stewart said. The task force is reviewing the comments and will meet Nov. 4
to review the proposed options.
Interested parents can look at the boundary maps on the school district Web
site by clicking on the school boundary update logo on the main page for maps, a timeline
and additional information as well as a link to e-mail their comments to the boundary task
force.
The Newberg School District Web site can be found at www.newberg.k12.or.us. |
|
From Oct. 25,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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