Neighbors Speak Out About Moving The Midland Alternative Program To West Elementary
By: Matthew Farrell
Updated: November 13, 2012
At their regular meeting Tuesday night, the MISD board of Trustees approved the process for finding architects for their upcoming construction projects, after voters passed the $163 million bond.
They expect the bids for those construction projects to be approved in the first quarter of 2013.
At that point, the board will have a better sense of when work on these new projects might start.
Board members did say construction will take about 3 years to complete.
Meanwhile, another hot item on the docket Tuesday night centered around upgrading the Alternative Education Program in the district.
The board agreed to move the program to West Elementary, since it was the most cost effective approach, but that left some residents in the surrounding neighborhood with a bad taste in their mouths.
Lillian Reynolds lives in the neighborhood surrounding West Elementary, and she feels it's a bad location for the program.
"I just don't think it's the neighborhood. I think that this is a historical neighborhood. I don't believe it's a neighborhood for problem kids," Reynolds said.
"There's people using the phrase 'those kids', and it has a negative conotation. We have kids every day who make fantastic decisions and kids that don't make fantastic decisions every day. Some of our kids need extra help," Superintendent Ryder Warren countered.
Superintendent Warren said that West Elementary has the perfect layout to best serve the MAP program, and it is the most cost effective solution.
The district will spend $4.5 million dollars from their general fund to finance the move, meaning they don't need help from the community.
District officials also said that the renovation projects may not require the 5 cent tax increase .
In fact, they say these projects may not impact tax payers at all.
This will be more clear after the bids come in over the next few months.
What is clear is that the MAP program will have a new home in West Elementary, although board members haven't said when that move will be complete.
They expect the bids for those construction projects to be approved in the first quarter of 2013.
At that point, the board will have a better sense of when work on these new projects might start.
Board members did say construction will take about 3 years to complete.
Meanwhile, another hot item on the docket Tuesday night centered around upgrading the Alternative Education Program in the district.
The board agreed to move the program to West Elementary, since it was the most cost effective approach, but that left some residents in the surrounding neighborhood with a bad taste in their mouths.
Lillian Reynolds lives in the neighborhood surrounding West Elementary, and she feels it's a bad location for the program.
"I just don't think it's the neighborhood. I think that this is a historical neighborhood. I don't believe it's a neighborhood for problem kids," Reynolds said.
"There's people using the phrase 'those kids', and it has a negative conotation. We have kids every day who make fantastic decisions and kids that don't make fantastic decisions every day. Some of our kids need extra help," Superintendent Ryder Warren countered.
Superintendent Warren said that West Elementary has the perfect layout to best serve the MAP program, and it is the most cost effective solution.
The district will spend $4.5 million dollars from their general fund to finance the move, meaning they don't need help from the community.
District officials also said that the renovation projects may not require the 5 cent tax increase .
In fact, they say these projects may not impact tax payers at all.
This will be more clear after the bids come in over the next few months.
What is clear is that the MAP program will have a new home in West Elementary, although board members haven't said when that move will be complete.
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