Agenda - 04-25-2006-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• On average, the cost to construct and maintain two small schools is about 20% more than the cost of a larger school, And so, to save construction and maintenance where larger schools are needed we're finding that partnerships with other functions — especially parks and recreation programs — can make sense, • Cumberland County's partnership between the schools and recreation programs is impressive. The parties get together ahead of time to plan their capital needs. • Library and school partnerships exist in some communities. Community libraries located within schools generally need space for more fiction than school -only libraries. County librarians generally earn less in salary than school system media specialists, and this would need to be addressed when school /community library partnerships are being established. • Partnership arrangements should be put in writing: who will be in charge of what? What if one or both partners need major changes to the arrangement? How will the partnership be dissolved, if necessary? • Public school teachers conventionally `own" their classrooms, but some schools are interested in the "college" model where classrooms are scheduled across several faculty members. As with many cost savings, this works better in smaller schools than in larger ones. Also, teachers must adjust to "hauling" their materials in and out of the room. • Handouts II: "Typical Space Profile" for different sized Elementary (10/6/04), Middle (7/31/03) and High Schools (7/31/03) . These guidelines have not changed since the 198o's. General Discussion • Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Mr. Taynton for including Pre -K information in his handouts. Schools are serving this population and we're funding it, but it's a whole different ballgame than K -12, he said. • Commissioner Jacobs asked if anyone was doing creative thinking about automobile queuing, Mr. Taynton replied that the significance of this issue is "phenomenal." He's seen parents in their cars "hop the curb" in order to get in front of the drop off /pick up line. It's safer for students to ride a bus to school, but our society is car oriented, Mr, Burriss said that some efforts to address this issue are taking place through WCPSS's Safe Routes to Schools program. The district is trying to ensure that all sidewalks from neighborhoods to schools within walkable distances are connected. Ms. Sharma added that this is a community values issue that is beyond a school district's power to reverse; we need a more global or regional response, she said. Mr. Taynton added that he is aware of only one truly "walkable" school in North Carolina, "and it is located on a military base." In the past, he added, walkability could be achieved when schools were sited within neighborhood; "issues of diversity are playing into this as well," • Mr. Hartkopf asked if anyone had polling data that might reveal why parents prefer to drive their children to school. Is it convenience, he asked, people loving their cars, or something else? He called the phenomenon a "spiral:" fewer people ride the bus, and so bus routes must be longer to accommodate the few bus riders, which discourages people from riding the bus. Parents probably are trying to avoid the long bus rides, he said. • Ms. Stuckey said that she strongly supports walking, biking and bus riding. It is difficult to get parents to opt f'or other means than driving for sending children to school, she said. The City Schools has learned that parents within school walk zones prefer to drive because they like the 10 -15 minutes in the car with their kids. They do 4