Along with questions posed at the meeting and through note cards a number of themes were evident from the public forum and note card comments. They are briefly discussed below.
A large number of people commented on the high regard they have for the school their child attends and their wish that the school not be closed or changed dramatically. The comments included:
a. the wonderful after-school programs provided;
b. amazing staff who have long tenure, are highly educated and have the best interests of students in mind;
c. the fact that they had moved to specific neighborhoods to attend specific schools;
d. the unique characteristics of their home school that create a special school culture;
e. the amount of time and resources donated to their school;
f. the wonderful special education programs available at the school.
There seemed to be a belief that over time the criteria that were set are absolute and if a school could just get on the right side of the criteria then they would not be affected by any possible changes. The criteria are to be viewed in conjunction with trend data. If a school is trending toward any of the criteria, they would be highlighted by the process over time. Also, even if a school does not meet one of the explicit criteria, it could be affected if a facility utilization plan is created for the entire district.
It is important to remember that schools are likely to experience changes in the future regardless of the outcome of the Facility Use Task Force work. LPS is facing a $4 million budget deficit for school year 2009-2010, which could impact all LPS schools significantly.
It was stated numerous times that neighborhoods seem to be attracting a number of young families. At this time LPS is not seeing the effect of this in enrollment figures. The 2007-08 kindergarten enrollment figure (excluding charter schools) was 951 students and the 2008-09 figure is also 951.