Engagement meetings continue over school restructuring
Interim Superintendent Charles Mason crossed the halfway point Tuesday in the series of public engagement meetings aimed at getting feedback about possible changes to the restructuring plan for Vestavia Hills City Schools facilities.
Mason and district personnel held two meetings Tuesday, the first at 10 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Cahaba Heights.
At the first meeting, Mason welcomed the few dozen attendees, and assured them that just because the numbers were small compared to the 150 people who came to the first meeting, their opinions were just as vital and he would answer as many of their questions as possible.
Mason said that in the time since the online survey went live on Nov. 7, more than 2,000 responses have been recorded, with two-thirds of those responses including an independent comment.
“We’re hearing a lot back,” Mason said. “That’s helpful.”
Mason once again began his presentation by giving a brief overview of the process, and then had principals from different schools give a rundown of the pros and cons for each of the three possible options.
Each plan alleviates the overcrowding issues the district faces and also accommodates for the growth each school is projected to receive. Option 9 and Option S also bring into the mix Gresham Elementary School and has the school remaining a K-5 school as it currently operates.
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
Starting with Plan A, the gathering went through some of the issues the board and the community have raised, most obviously the fact that the plan as it stands now does not answer what the district would do with Gresham.
Mason said it is his understanding that the board wishes to purchase the school regardless of his recommendation, and would save it for a future use if Plan A were the recommendation.
Parents asked if the history of Gresham as a junior high had been considered, but Mason and Vestavia Hills High School principal Tyler Burgess explained that the cost of retrofitting the school to work for older students would be costly compared to keeping it an elementary school.
An issue raised at the Tuesday morning meeting that had not been fully addressed before — how high school athletics would factor into the plan — saw significant conversation.
Athletic Director Jeff Segars said that he has been involved and looking at all of the opportunities, and that there are many ways that athletics could be arranged. Particularly, he said, adding Gresham to the mix allows for some field space he needs now, particularly for ninth grade sports.
Segars said that whether it is transportation or programming, that no matter the configuration, athletics will likely look different, and in many cases that is a major pro.
As an example, he spoke to how much traffic and congestion is created through spring sports, and how having more field space would create a safer environment for all students.
Mason said that depending on what happens with Gresham, the board will be engaging with the city as well to see how all of Vestavia's athletic resources can be best utilized.
Ultimately, Mason said, it's about figuring out which plan makes the most sense for the most people, but that no matter what happens, the district will do what needs to be done to continue providing high-quality education.
“We’re looking for a way to provide excellent educational opportunities for all kids,” he said.
Liberty Park Middle School
Similar discussions were held at the day's second meeting at Liberty Park Middle School, during which Mason and principals of surrounding schools again presented the three options to parents and community members.
Many parents were concerned with transportation between the schools for Plan A and Option S, particularly for any 9th grade students who would be participating in Rebel athletics or extra curricular activities at the high school. Parents said not only would traveling to different schools throughout the day for different activities be logistically difficult, but it could cut into students’ time for homework, practice or other activities.
Another major concern was again creating equitable experiences between the 9th grade classes if they are split between the Berry and Liberty Park Middle School campus for Plan A or Liberty Park Middle School and Pizitz for Option S. Because the grade would be split between two campuses with either of those options, parents said to ensure equal experiences, the grade should be kept in one building, even if that means a farther drive for Liberty Park residents.
“You need to look at what is best not trasnportationally [sic], but educationally for our children,” a parent said at the meeting.
While Mason said it would be “costly and difficult” to create equitable experiences for both 9th grade campuses if Plan A or Option S were chosen, he did not say it was impossible.
Under Option 9, however, all 9th grade students would be in the same environment about one mile from the high school. This amends the problem of working between two separate 9th grade campuses and alleviates the logistics of transporting freshmen across the city for extracurricular activities.
Vestavia Hills High School principal Tyler Burgess said it would be possible to have some overlap at the 9th grade campus, adding that there would be some administration dedicated to running that campus conjointly with the high school.
Parents also discussed the issue of creating a “high school atmosphere” at the proposed 9th grade campus, to which Burgess and Mason said the schools would work together to include all students at school activities and promote the Vestavia Hills High School culture. Burgess suggested that the 9th grade PTO board could collaborate with the high school PTO board to enhance the high school atmosphere and encourage parent involvement.
Mason did address the fact that Hoover had previously attempted a 9th grade campus many years ago but it did not work with its system. After speaking with an administrator from Hoover, Mason said they attributed the failure of the separate campus to a lack of planning and execution.
“I think we have a luxury that they didn’t have,” Mason said, referring to the planning that is occurring currently and the 19 months between the decision announcement and implementation that will allow for additional planning. “The challenge would be to design a version of this that would work for our school system.”
To make his final recommendation to the board, Mason said he has four main points he is looking to address: the best interest for students academically, the developmental need of students of various ages, the best structure to facilitate student access to extracurricular activities and cost.
“Once the board has made a decision, the principal [of the school] is going to knock themselves out to make it work,” he said. “I think there’s a commitment to make it work.”
Regardless of which plan is selected however, Mason said, the district is still hoping to purchase the school, and if Plan A remains the desired path, the future of the school would be determined at a later date.