District officials outline possible use of Central College, Longfellow buildings
(February 26, 2012) Westerville City School District Board of Education members during their February 25, 2013, regular meeting heard a status report on the work that has been completed by the Elementary Attendance Boundary Realignment Committee (EABRC).
The EABRC met yesterday morning, at which time its members reviewed a new option, Option F, and reduced other remaining options to Option A and Option D. Information about the three remaining options is available at www.wcsoh.org. Feedback on these options will be collected through 11:45 p.m. on March 6, 2013. Interested persons are encouraged to share their thoughts on these options even if they had provided feedback earlier in the process.
Option A and Option D have not been altered since their original introduction. Option F is the result of input gathered since February 19 and reflects a continued effort to develop boundaries with a same-school neighborhood focus. Additionally, Option F is estimated to impact 1,097 students, which is the fewest of all options developed to date.
Upon the recommendation of the EABRC, the Board last week announced that it would delay a first reading on proposed elementary attendance boundary revisions until its regular meeting on March 11, 2013. According to the original timeline, Board members were expected to hold their first reading yesterday. Should the Board wish to approve boundary revisions prior to spring break as originally planned, it would need to schedule a special meeting prior to March 22, 2013, at which a second and final reading would occur.
Elementary attendance boundary realignment is necessary due in part to the elimination of the district’s magnet program as part of budget reductions following a failed operating levy in November of 2011. Two of the magnet program’s locations, Hanby and Emerson elementary schools, would share an attendance boundary under each of the boundary options still being considered. District officials at yesterday’s Board meeting also presented possible uses for Central College and Longfellow elementary schools, which also served as magnet program sites until they closed following the 2011-12 school year.
Executive Director of Pupil Services Barbara Wallace presented a proposal to repurpose Central College Elementary as a program site to support students with behavioral and emotional challenges. The goal, she said, is to expand the continuum of services for students with disabilities. Benefits would include providing in-district programming for students typically served outside of the district and being proactive in meeting pupil needs. According to a financial analysis, providing these services as part of Westerville City Schools’ Special Education programming, rather than paying for outside services, would save the district approximately $250,000 annually.
Director of Assessment and Alternative Educational Services Dr. Machelle Kline offered a supposal to repurpose Longfellow Elementary as a site to house an Innovative Learning Center for middle school students, as well as the Best of Both Worlds program, which provides educational and life skills to adult students with multiple disabilities. Best of Both Worlds currently operates from a property owned by Otterbein University near campus. Kline said the benefits would include retaining current students who desire a quality, non-traditional education; developing and deploying a dynamic and innovative learning model; reducing the loss of local dollars to community schools; and meeting the needs of adult transition students and community.