JACKSON SCHOOL ENDORSED

JACKSON - A Citizens Facility Advisory Committee has recommended the Jackson School District consider building a middle school to relieve overcrowding at the R.O. Hawkins Junior High School and West Lane Elementary School.

The committee, appointed earlier this year by the school board, presented its final report to the board at its Monday meeting.

Committee Chairman Allen Clark said after reviewing several options, the members felt the middle school would be the most feasible because it would immediately eliminate the overcrowding at the junior high and elementary schools.

Clark said the committee discussed the possibility of adding to the existing facilities. "However, we felt that this would only be a band-aid approach and not the long term solution to the overcrowding problem," he said. "The middle school project would allow for expected future growth at both the middle school and the junior high school and would free up room at the West Lane facility."

Clark said from an educational standpoint, the middle school concept would allow greater flexibility with student scheduling and teacher assignment.

"Increased emphasis could be placed on basic subjects tailored to individual needs, and a wider variety of classes could be offered to better meet student needs," he said

The committee's report said the middle school with grades six and seven and grades eight and nine at the junior high would have the more compatible age groups together.

"This arrangement could help with some of the transitional difficulties that are present at the junior high level," said Clark.

"From a safety viewpoint," he continued, "the congestion in the halls and classrooms at the junior high would be reduced by having two grades instead of three in the building. Traffic congestion around the area would also be lessened by the reduction of students at the junior high school building."

The committee said one of the major dangers of the overcrowded condition at the junior high school is the gridlock that occurs at class change time. A parent who was in the audience told the board her son said class change at the junior high school is like New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve.

A committee member said an incident occurred earlier this year when students in the hallways at the junior high school were actually trapped in the hallways, unable to move, because of overcrowding.

"What would happen in case of a fire, or earthquake, or some other emergency. How could they get out?" she asked. "It's real scary."

School Board President Jack Knowlan Jr. said the overcrowding at the junior high school is having a negative impact on education for both students and teachers.

The committee said some junior high school students were forced to miss lunch at times last year because there was not enough time to eat in one of the three lunch periods.

The junior high school was built to accommodate 500 students. It now has grades seven, eight and nine. The 1991-92 enrollment was 855 and is projected to be around 900 when school opens today.

Enrollment at West Lane Elementary last year was 613, and school Superintendent Wayne Maupin said the building has now exceeded its design capacity. West Lane has grades four, five and six. Grades one, two, and three have been moved to Orchard Elementary.

After the meeting, Knowlan said he would like for the board to move on the committee's recommendation as soon as possible.

"We're at the point now that unless we can find more space in the elementary classes, our class size is going to go up at West Lane. We're OK at Orchard. With a middle school, we could handle our projected student growth through the end of the decade," he said. "We are fortunate that we will soon be retiring some of our older bond issues. That means we could issue new bonds to pay for the middle school without raising the tax levy. All it would take is for the voters to approve the bond issue."

Knowlan said he plans to ask the board to have plans, specifications and cost estimates for the middle school drawn up this winter so the board can present the middle school proposal to the voters next spring.

"If everything goes well, construction would begin next year, and our middle school would be ready for the opening of school in August 1994. But that means we will still have to go through at least two more years of overcrowding at the junior high and at West Lane," he added.