Wednesday, August 19, 2015

A FACILITIES MASTER PLAN THAT'S FLEXIBLE AND REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY'S VALUES

The following letter to the editor by Amir Hadzic appeared in the August 14 Press-Citizen:
It has been exciting to see the Save Hoover Committee grow from a few concerned neighbors to an organization receiving broad-based, district-wide support. Such support is shown by the more than 800 people who signed our petition to keep all our schools open, including Hoover Elementary, and the recent packed-room meeting to discuss Hoover with just two board members.
Revisiting the Facilities Master Plan is not the same as jeopardizing it. The FMP should undergo periodic review and adjustment, not only to ensure it continues to meet the district’s needs, but also that it accords with what the public wants and values. The FMP needs public support to work.
Many Save Hoover supporters will one day have a child attending City High. None of these parents wants to send a child to an inferior school. But decisions about where to place City’s parking facilities or athletic fields must be weighed against the prospect of destroying a school at the center of a vibrant neighborhood.
Closing schools is a forever decision. It should be based on actual data of the cost of operating the schools, the cost of replacing it, and the cost to the neighborhoods they serve. So far, the board has not demonstrated this need.

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