Totally agree. Omar Salem seemed willing to discuss alternative options in a public meeting, not sure about the rest of the board. I don't understand why the school closures can't be looked at simultaneously, instead of staggered plan. If SAP 3 is the key to these decisions, why hasn't it begun already? Joey Hailpern specifically said that the next steps haven't been defined yet, let's define it then!
The fact they aren't doing it all at once is rooted in politics, optics, etc. as opposed to what actually makes sense. The fact they haven't stated which North Evanston school(s) is going to be closed is going to hurt new Kindergartener enrollment, if it hasn't already. Word is finally starting to hit parents of young kids who aren't in D65 yet that closures are coming. I've heard comments from parents who are now considering putting their non elementary school aged kid in private school when they reach Kindergarten because they don't want to run the risk of starting them somewhere where they will have to move in a year or two.
So frustrating and impractical. No parent wants their school closed, and transition is going to be difficult on so many levels, but I know I'd prefer as much planning time as possible to decide what makes sense for my family. Omar and Joey have both been vocal that the board has to tackle the necessary work now to avoid these uncertainties. Maybe having younger children in the district helps with the sense of urgency? But they seem outnumbered by the other members.
Totally agree. Omar Salem seemed willing to discuss alternative options in a public meeting, not sure about the rest of the board. I don't understand why the school closures can't be looked at simultaneously, instead of staggered plan. If SAP 3 is the key to these decisions, why hasn't it begun already? Joey Hailpern specifically said that the next steps haven't been defined yet, let's define it then!
The fact they aren't doing it all at once is rooted in politics, optics, etc. as opposed to what actually makes sense. The fact they haven't stated which North Evanston school(s) is going to be closed is going to hurt new Kindergartener enrollment, if it hasn't already. Word is finally starting to hit parents of young kids who aren't in D65 yet that closures are coming. I've heard comments from parents who are now considering putting their non elementary school aged kid in private school when they reach Kindergarten because they don't want to run the risk of starting them somewhere where they will have to move in a year or two.
So frustrating and impractical. No parent wants their school closed, and transition is going to be difficult on so many levels, but I know I'd prefer as much planning time as possible to decide what makes sense for my family. Omar and Joey have both been vocal that the board has to tackle the necessary work now to avoid these uncertainties. Maybe having younger children in the district helps with the sense of urgency? But they seem outnumbered by the other members.