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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:20 PM

Photo by Courtney Servaes/The Ottawa Herald

Jane Huesemann, with the Lawrence-based architectural firm Gould and Evans, discusses one of the improvement plans being considered by the Ottawa School District Monday night during a public forum to address the district’s facilities master plan at Ottawa Middle School.

Public says consider safety with school options

By COURTNEY SERVAES, Herald Staff Writer

Brad Butler’s daughter never will walk to Eisenhower Elementary School.

It’s just too dangerous, Butler said at the Ottawa School District’s public forum Monday night at Ottawa Middle School.

And that’s something Butler said the school board should take into consideration when choosing a facilities master plan.

“That street is way too heavily traveled,” Butler said of the streets between his house on Beech Street and Eisenhower Elementary, which sits on Ash Street.

Others who attended the forum — which served as an opportunity for the public to provide input on the district’s improvement plans — felt the same way.

“Once you’ve maimed or killed a kid, we’ll be asking why didn’t we...,” David Alderman said.

But the biggest concern from attendees had to do with money and the current economic situation.

“We need to use our heads,” one attendee said.

“I think we need to cut down and not do it all at once,” another person told the board.

Monday’s forum, which attracted more than 20 people, was designed to help the district narrow its options for the project, Superintendent Dean Katt said.

“Obviously the board is very aware of those things,” he said.

The school board has considered several options, including closing some schools because of such factors as the cost to make improvements to them. Katt has said the board’s goal is to have each school facility equipped with similar technology to create equal educational opportunities for all of the district’s students.

The school board originally looked at eight options for the district’s improvement plan but narrowed the list to four — which range in cost from $30 million to $35 million.

The next step in the process is to narrow the four options and focus on what the community really wants, Katt said.

“The process we’ve gone through here is to basically understand the needs,” Jane Huesemann, with the Lawrence-based architectural firm Gould and Evans, said at the meeting.

But Butler thinks the district needs is to maintain the buildings the district already owns.

“I’m a big fan of you take care of what you’ve got,” Butler said. “With the recession, it’s hard to decide on a plan.”

He said he’s afraid that what looks and sounds like a good plan now, might not be as smart in the near future.

“It’s kind of like charging on a credit card,” he said. “And saying, ‘It’ll be OK. I’m going to get a raise next year.’”

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Public says consider safety with school options

By COURTNEY SERVAES, Herald Staff Writer

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.