BY JOSH DAVIDSON
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN — Two district parent groups are working with the Board of Education and school administration to address space issues in the district’s 12 elementary schools.
The district’s Parent Information Committee and President’s Council, both parent groups, presented the results of a survey addressing elementary school class sizes at the Feb. 24 board meeting.
The survey was sent out to elementary parents and submitted to the board in October.
Parents who responded to the survey indicated a need for classroom space throughout the district, a lack of elementary school cafeterias and no full-day kindergarten program, said Patricia Walsh, chair of the Parent Information Committee, former board president and board candidate.
Without adding classroom space, many of the other issues cannot be addressed, she said. Class sizes in the elementary schools range from 12 to 28 students, according to the survey.
Because of a sagging economy, parents are sending their children to public rather than private schools, causing higher district enrollment numbers, said Dawn Diorio, president of President’s Council and also a board candidate.
Despite the economy, many people are buying homes in Middletown, she said.
"These new homeowners would be surprised to find out our elementary schools don’t have a cafeteria and many of the schools don’t have art rooms or music rooms, and none of them are air conditioned," she said.
Fixing these problems would draw younger couples to the township, which would be to its benefit, she said.
"What’s the first thing a homeowner asks when they come to a district: ‘How are the schools?’ " she said.
On behalf of the two parent groups, Walsh requested the board create an advisory council to examine what improvements could be made.
The report prompted Superintendent of Schools David Witmer to recommend the creation of a kindergarten study committee and a Bayshore space utilization committee, Diorio said.
The kindergarten study committee will investigate how the district’s kindergarten program can be expanded or enhanced, according to the superintendent’s monthly newsletter.
Options could include establishing a full-day or an extended-day kindergarten program, Witmer said. The extended-day program would add one or two hours to the existing two-hour kindergarten day.
The Bayshore space utilization committee will look into how to best use the space in all the district’s buildings in order to alleviate the crowded elementary classroom problem, according to the newsletter.
The district needs to decide how to best use 10 to 12 unfinished classrooms located on the second floor of the Bayshore Middle School, Witmer said.
Both committees will consist of board members, staff, administrators and parents.