Polson parents await board's decision, again

For the Polson parents who took legal action against the school district over the plan to restructure the two elementary schools, they're hoping tonight's meeting isn't deja vu all over again.

But they're also realistic.

Regardless of the outcome, some of them say they'd be happy with just an explanation and justification for the change — something they don't feel they received May 29 — even if the board votes to go ahead with plans to restructure the elementary schools and provide all-day kindergarten.

Tonight (July 12) at 6 p.m., Linderman gym will again be the scene of a public meeting to discuss all-day kindergarten and reorganizing Linderman and Cherry Valley schools. The meeting was planned after negotiations between the school district and parents who took legal action broke down late last month, and some parents hope that it simply won't be a replay of the original May 29 meeting.

"Basically, our negotiations boiled down to 'Just explain yourselves before you vote,'" said Greg Hobbs, one of the parents who took legal action against the district. "Before they vote, we just want them to address the pertinent issues they've raised. I don't feel like we got much explanation at all at the May 29 meeting."

At that meeting, Polson school board members voted unanimously to reconfigure the two schools, moving early elementary schooling to Cherry Valley while providing second through fourth grades at Linderman. The board also voted to approve all-day kindergarten, which is driving some of that reconfiguration, they said.

After more than a dozen parents filed an injunction halting the reconfiguration process, claiming the district didn't give proper public notice, district officials decided to host another public meeting, this time with significantly more notice, but whether the outcome will be different remains to be seen.

For parents who contested the board's decision, an identical re-vote would be frustrating, but they're at least hoping district officials will articulate their reasoning. Many parents were frustrated after the May 29 meeting, and claimed board members had already made up their mind before the meeting started.

They're hoping that several weeks of legal action and public input will have at least given board members a chance to reconsider.

"I would truly like to see them revisit this and do it in a thoughtful manner, and not just say 'OK, we're going to go through the procedure just to satisfy the courts,'" Julie Berry said. "If they had gone through the process and did their research and had the information to substantiate their vote, then that would be that. We wouldn't have been happy, but there would have been nothing we could have done about it. But after that meeting, it was like 'Wow, how can they do this to us?'"

Berry, Hobbs and other parents say having a formal restructuring plan — with alternatives and related financial information — would have made a difficult decision easier to sell to the many parents who spoke out against the idea on May 29. As it is, some of the parents say the best thing is to take a step back and not try to implement the restructuring in such a short time frame — a time made all the more shorter by the injunction.

"I would hope that given not just the opposition at the May 29 meeting, but the ongoing and continuing controversy, that the board would see that it's a very controversial measure they are deciding, and that maybe the wisest thing to do is to step back and put the reconfiguration on the table," Cesar Hernandez said.

Hernandez said implementing full-day kindergarten can still be done without the configuration, but that such a major move to change the makeup of the two schools should only be done after studying the situation extensively — something that he says hasn't been accomplished. Board members, however, claim that the idea has been tossed about for the past several years.

They say the move will streamline services provided at both schools, allow for more classroom camaraderie as the same students progress together at the same school, and allow similar grade teachers to work closer together instead of being spread out between the schools.

Plans to reconfigure the two schools were put on hold last month, and the legal action has prevented the district from hiring some elementary staff, pending the outcome of the situation and tonight's meeting. At least one teaching position at Cherry Valley has not been filled, principal Elaine Meeks told board members at Monday night's regular board meeting, because they have to wait and see what the staffing needs will be.

"There are implications for staffing. It depends on whether we move forward with the reconfiguration," she told the board.

The idea of reconfiguring the two schools seems to have affected Cherry Valley parents more, and Berry noted she's the only Linderman parent who took legal action. Cherry Valley had a "primary" grade system that combined first and second graders, a teaching environment that many parents liked. However, reconfiguration would affect students and staff at both schools.

Hernandez said, in light of that, a committee should be formed, made up of school officials, teachers and parents, who could study the impact and present pros and cons after a more thorough analysis. He said he hopes board members will consider that instead of going ahead with plans to reconfigure by the 2007-2008 school year.

"We didn't see any research, any budget info, or any feasibility studies. They just brushed aside all of these people's inputs (at the May 29th meeting)," Berry said. "To me, they did a great disservice to the people they represent — their constituents."

For now, the parents can only take a wait-and-see approach to tonight's meeting. They said they'll regroup and decide what action, if any, they want to take following the board's decision. Many of the parents are having to decide how much money to spend in legal fees.

"If they give an explanation for their decision, I would be happy with that, but I don't speak for the rest of the plaintiffs," Hobbs said.

"If they vote to go ahead with the reconfiguration, we'd have to reflect on that and see what we want to do," Hernandez said.

"I'm hoping it won't come down to that," Berry said of the possibility the board will vote to continue with the reconfiguration process. "Sometimes people get caught up in the legal process of how to get around this or that, but this is about the kids and the community. I really want people to feel positive about this process. It has really galvanized the community."