By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A citizen committee is being formed by the Juab School
District to offer help in deciding the best approach to
handling the number of students on the elementary level.
The district has experienced a slow 1.25 to 2 percent
growth rate pattern since 1970 to the present. Building a
new high school was a good move, said Superintendent Kirk
Wright, because it allowed the district flexibility in
moving students from the elementary school level leaving
more room for the lower grades and the crowded Nephi
Elementary.
"Now, however, Nephi Elementary has a slightly larger
population than it did the year before we moved elementary
students to the middle school," said Wright.
District fifth and sixth grades attend the school which
used to begin with the seventh grade. The older grade levels
were moved to the junior high which was the former high
school before the new high school opened.
All of the adjustments gave the district some wiggle
room, but that has now ended.
"The point I would like to make is that our plan did just
what it was meant to do," said Leon Pexton, board president.
"We have been playing a shell game."
Because of the size of Nephi Elementary, the district has
been trying to keep the population there at approximately
600 students which was exceeded this year.
The long-range plan is to build another elementary school
in Nephi, said Pexton. However, even if the process were to
begin immediately, the fastest track would mean that a bond
election would be held in 2006.
However, short-term changes need to be made by the coming
school year, the fall of 2005.
"We do have some short-term options," said Wright.
A citizen group is needed to review the options for the
short-term and that committee needs to meet in early January
in order for changes they recommend to be adopted.
Those include implementing a year-around school at Nephi
Elementary which would reduce the number of students at the
school by 25 percent during any school term.
Split sessions at Nephi Elementary, meaning having an
early and a late session each day, could be a solution.
Additional modules could be moved to the school or Mona
fifth and sixth grade students could be moved back to Mona
and the Nephi fourth grade students could be moved to the
JMS.
"We could re-draw the school boundary lines which would
send 100 students to Mona but would keep the same grade
level organization," said Wright.
Another option would be to create three K-6 elementary
schools in the district. That option would mean that, in
addition to Mona and Nephi, the present JMS would become an
elementary school.
The year-around school has the advantage of requiring no
building modifications, no boundary changes and reducing the
number of students in the building at any given time.
The disadvantages are that no teacher has a home room,
student vacation schedules do not line up with students at
other school and the year around school tends not to be
popular with parents.
Split session schedules allow students to have the
regular year schedule and reduce students in the building
for core time by 50 percent.
"The disadvantages are that some students start early and
some students go late, building maintenance becomes a
problem, and it causes parents scheduling nightmares," said
Wright.
Adding modules at the Nephi Elementary creates additional
space, does not impact other schools, and does not create
staff moving problems.
The disadvantages, said Wright, are that the plan puts a
strain on already taxed infrastructure at the school and
encroaches on the current playground space.
Re-drawing boundary lines does create room to grow for
several more years at Nephi, helps balance the lads between
the two elementary schools, and helps student-infrastructure
ratio at Nephi.
"The disadvantages of this plan are that it creates
additional busing and creates a PR problems with parents of
transported Nephi students," Wright said.
Sending fifth and sixth grade students back to Mona and
moving the fourth grade to the JMS does reduce busing,
causes little relative staff shifting, reduces overcrowding
at NES, and helps keep At-Risk programs intact.
The disadvantage is that one elementary grade is brought
to a mostly secondary campus, busing needs may be increased,
and Mona students are moved back to the elementary within
one year.
Option six, which is creating three elementary schools in
the district does give the district time to grow for three
more years, creates instructional continuity for a six year
period since students from K-6 would attend the same school,
sets the stage for a potential permanent K-6 grade
organization and eliminates some busing.
"There are some disadvantages," said Wright. "For one, it
causes a major staff shift and moves elementary students to
a mostly secondary campus."
The shift would also disrupt current At-Risk service
patterns for Title I and Special Education.
"It may also cause an increase in certified staffing,"
said Wright.
However, the student-teacher ratio would be approximately
the same at the three schools.
Kindergarten at the North Elementary would have 63
students divided in three sections, first grade would have
38 in two sections, second would have 52 in two sections,
third would have 46 divided into two sections, fourth grade
would have 46 students divided into two sections, fifth
grade would have 45 students divided into two sections, and
sixth grade would have 54 students in two sections.
NES would have 63 Kindergarten students divided into
three sections, 38 first graders divided into two sections,
52 second graders divided into two sections, 46 third
graders divided into two sections, 45 fifth graders divided
into two sections, and 54 sixth graders divided into two
sections.
Mona would have 33 Kindergarten students in two sections,
33 first graders in two sections, 36 second graders in two
sections, 29 third graders in one section, 39 fourth graders
in two sections, 23 fifth graders in one section, and 48
sixth graders in two sections.
"There would be 250 students at Mona, 350 students at JMS
and 530 students at NES if we used this plan," said
Wright.
The biggest disadvantage to this idea is that the
elementary students would be those of safety because high
school students drive and elementary students are small and
unpredictable pedestrians.
"We know we have to have a building but the earliest that
might be possible would be in 2008, so what do we do in the
interim?" asked Pexton.
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