Newport School Realignment Plan Controversial
Yaquina View School would be reopened for grades K-2 next year if the Lincoln County School District moves forward with a school realignment plan to allow full day kindergarten and add additional space at some schools. (Photo by Larry Coonrod)
By Larry Coonrod
NEWPORT—A proposed realignment of Newport schools to allow all day kindergarten next year has many parents concerned.
The district wants full day kindergarten district wide starting in September 2015. To add the necessary classrooms will require about $1.2 million in construction and reconfiguring grade levels of Newport area schools. The district faces two issues in Newport: the need to add five to six additional kindergarten classes and the fact that Newport High School is at capacity (620+ students in grades 9-12) with no available space for expansion.
Under the district’s proposed plan, Newport schools would look like this:
- Yaquina View: K-2
- Sam Case: 3-5
- Newport Intermediate: 6-8
- Newport High School: 9-12
The plan involves reopening Yaquina View School, presently to house some district staff and a private preschool. An additional four classrooms would be built at Sam Case. School officials say the additional reshuffling of grades and extra classrooms will provide room for more activities such as common core interventions, art and music instruction.
Questioning All Day Kindergarten
The Oregon Department of Education is pushing for all day kindergarten and state legislators have promised to fund it in the next biennium budget. Lincoln County ended its all-day kindergarten six years ago because of budget constraints.
Newport High School Principal Jon Zagel led a community meeting Wednesday to explain the proposed changes. Some parents questioned the research cited by ODE showing the benefits of all-day kindergarten, while some worried that their children wouldn’t have the stamina to be in a classroom all day at that age. Others wanted an option for half-day.
“I think it works for some kids and not others,” said Jody Hanna. “I think it’s nice to have an option. I had twins who went to full day kindergarten and about two weeks after school started I took them out at noon every day because they were exhausted.”
Aimee Thompson said full day kindergarten prepared her oldest daughter for first grade.
“It helped her being around that many kids and in a school setting,” Thompson said. “It helped her get a sense of what school was like.”
ABC Preschool currently operates from leased space at Yaquina View School. Owner April McKuhn supports all day kindergarten, even though it means she has to find a new facility large enough for her nearly 100 preschoolers by May 1, 2015.
Funding
Most of the $1.2 million costs of the realignment is budgeted for construction in Newport and Lincoln City. The district plans small modifications at other schools. School officials provided the following cost estimates:
- Newport: $670,000
- Lincoln City: $450,000
- Toledo: $40,000
- Waldport: $9,000
Rich Belloni, schools facilities manager, said the district has about $500,000 remaining from a $63 million school construction tax. An additional $650,000 of construction excise tax money is available.
State funding for a full time kindergarten student is about $3,300 more than schools receive for half-day students. The rub for the district is that the state budget processing will not be complete before the construction needs to start in order to have schools ready by September.
Rushed Decision
School officials say the board of education needs to approve of the changes by January. Some who attended the meeting suggested delaying the school realignment for a year to give the public more time for discussion and input.
“It seems to be a huge decision that’s trying to be squared away in 60 days,” Harlyn Jenkins said. “Is it absolutely critical to do this year? Could it be studied for a year and done at a later time.”
More Meetings Planned-Full Day Kindergarten Q & A posted
The district has meetings scheduled on the following dates to discuss plans for full-day kindergarten and school realignment:
- Tuesday, Nov. 4: 6 p.m. at Taft Elementary School
- Thursday, Nov. 13: 6 p.m. at Taft High 7-12
- Wednesday, Nov. 12: 6 p.m. at Newport High School
The district on Monday, Nov. 3 posted additional information for parents about the planned changes. It can be viewed below or at http://www.lincoln.k12.or.us/documents/FullDayKinderPlans_QandA_rev11-03-14.pdf
Contact reporter Larry Coonrod by emailing editor@lincolncountydispatch.com
