$100,000 earmarked for Pinon Hills portable

The parents who've been lobbying for a portable at Pinon Hills Elementary School got a mixed bag Tuesday night for their efforts.

The good news, they learned from district staff, is that Douglas High School has a portable available. The bad news is that moving it to the north valley school will cost up to $100,000, an expenditure board members voted unanimously to earmark in the capital improvement budget for next fall.

Pinon Hills was the only elementary school in the Valley to see an increase in enrollment last fall, a gain of 24 students. Built in 1996, last year the school had 531 students split between 20 classrooms, including three team classrooms with two teachers each. A third pod for the school was never built, and the current

structure was designed for 475 students.

Although money was earmarked for the Douglas High portable, moving forward will depend on a new facilities master plan, which district officials and board members expect to have in their hands by January.

Currently being developed by MGT of America, the master plan could recommend moving sixth-graders to the middle schools and ninth-graders back to the high school. It could recommend building a new pod at Pinon Hills. Not knowing the final outcome of the plan, or how long it will take to implement, board members wanted to keep the portable option on the table.

"It (the portable) would solve the problem temporarily, but it would not be the end to what we have to do at Pinon," said the school's principal Rommy Cronin.

Cronin estimated this year's enrollment will be around 520 students, lower than last year's, but well above the school's 475 capacity.

"Even with a portable, we'll still be bursting at the seams," she said.

The district's elementary schools open on Wednesday. Any portable installation at Pinon Hills would take at least a couple of months to complete.

Three team teachers from the school opposed the idea of moving students into a portable halfway through the school year.

"A sharp change in the middle of the year could impact learning," said teacher Denise Bickmore.

Board members voted down a motion to transfer the portable as soon as possible.

Some members reconsidered their position after hearing the teachers' testimony.

"I firmly believe that teachers are on the front lines," said board president Cindy Trigg.

Although disappointed by the delay, members of the school's parent-teacher organization were grateful that the board assumed the full cost of the portable installation. The PTO had offered a $20,000 contribution towards a modular classroom; however, Tuesday night, they expressed concern about the flailing economy.

"There are some dire predictions and numbers out there," said PTO Treasurer Sandy Johnson. "We don't count money until it comes in. We don't know if there is going to be a lag in contributions."