Your Opinion: Panel member responds on school issues

Dear Editor:

Bob Mansur's recent letters have questioned the Long Range Facilities Planning Committee (LRFPC) for the Jefferson City Public Schools. I am a member of that committee am responding with my thoughts.

The LRFPC was established to plan for classroom space and buildings for the next 20 years. As a committee member I strive to make sure all children will have an optimal space for learning and academic success. Teaching methods are not part of the charge; how children are instructed remains a Board of Education responsibility.

Mansur has linked having two high schools with the academy approach to teaching. Perhaps he recalls information from the district linking a new, large high school to academies. (The district in 2012 indicated academies would also be part of a two high school option.) Academies can take place regardless of high school size or location.

Mansur questions if members voted against the academy complex last year. The answer is no. Academies were not put to a vote. The 2013 votes posed two separate questions: permitting bonding to finance a new single high school facility featuring seven "schools within a school" and an additional tax increase for operating costs.

The linkage between a building and a teaching method is unfortunate. It left the erroneous impression the only need for facilities was to accommodate academies, thus making the buildings seem a luxury, not a need. Actually the district has very real, urgent needs for additional classrooms at elementary and high school levels. Many of our schools have class sizes exceeding what is recommended for a good learning environment. Some buildings are in desperate need of major repairs or replacement.

The LRFPC has not yet issued a report or finalized its recommendations. During this same time the district has begun implementing academies with the first classes set to start in August.

Enrollment was touted as a success with all future ninth graders making their choices for a course of study. It was a surprise to me when a district official recently told the LRFPC the district is planning to combine academies; instead of offering seven choices there will be three or four. I wonder what brought this about.

What is not in Mansur's list of questions is cost: whether the cost of bricks and mortar, operations, salaries, etc. Perhaps that will be addressed in future letters.