Parents push district for action on Pinon Hills

About 20 parents of students at Pinon Hills Elementary asked the school board on Tuesday to make the issue of overcrowding at the Stephanie Way school a top priority.

"Please separate us, make us a priority, and don't lump us in with other schools," said Susan Stafford, mother of two students. "We're the school that's here, and we have a lot of support."

Last fall, Pinon Hills was the only elementary school in the Valley to see an increase in enrollment, gaining 24 students. Built in 1992, the school currently has 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.

At 97 square feet per student, Pinon Hills has the lowest square footage per student of the district's seven elementary schools. Parent-Teacher Organization President Ron Santi said when the team classrooms are taken into account, that number is more like 25 square feet per student.

"This problem is not new," he said. "The overall picture is that the district is experiencing a decline in enrollment, but this is not the case at Pinon Hills Elementary School."

Superintendent Carol Lark said one of the school's storage rooms will be converted into a classroom over the summer, reducing the number of team classes from three to two. The school's average classroom size ranges from 600 to 900 square feet; the converted classroom will be 664 square feet.

But for many parents the addition is not enough.

"We use to have an equipment room that we already converted," Santi said. "When Pinon Hills opened, it had 19 classrooms, although the bond was for 24 classrooms, which didn't happen. Two years ago, we made that 20 classrooms, but we're running out of storage rooms."

Parents argued that portable classrooms would be a relatively quick and adequate solution. Some questioned why portables were no longer on the district's 5-year capital improvement plan, given that many Pinon Hills parents had lobbied for the continuation bond passed in November.

"How'd we get here?" asked PTO Treasurer Sandy Johnson.

Chief Financial Officer Holly Luna told parents that the capital improvements fund, partially funded by residential building permits, dried up when the housing slump hit. Fortunately, the district was able to pass a bond to fund large-scale improvements, but initial bond proceeds were directed towards projects involving safety and structural risks, such as outdated fire alarms and decrepit roofs.

"The KIDS (Keep Improving Douglas Schools) committee prioritized based on what would close a building," Luna said.

Luna also said the 5-year capital improvement plan isn't set in stone. She said state law requires a plan be approved each year, but that the plan itself can be changed and adjusted.

"It's an overall encompassing view," she said. "Every year, we can address it for the next five years."

Presently, the school district is in the process of hiring an outside consultant to develop a facilities master plan. Board members have considered moving sixth-graders to the middle schools and ninth-graders to the high school if declining enrollment continues. The move could mean closing one elementary school, or keeping all elementary schools open with lighter student loads.

Lark said Pinon Hills is not the only school with crowding issues. She said Jacks Valley and Minden elementary schools also suffer from overcrowding.

"Growth is in the north of the Valley," she said. "We're at a critical juncture for our district where we need to develop a 5- and 20-year master plan. It will take time, probably between six to eight months to do it right, with the right person in the right position."

Other options include rezoning, sending about 50 Pinon Hills students to Minden Elementary, or moving the current JROTC portables at Douglas High School to Pinon Hills once a permanent facility for JROTC is built.

Rezoning, which had no support from parents, would be the quickest solution. Luna said the JROTC facility is a couple of years out, as is any retrofitting of the high school for ninth-graders.

"We can't wait five years," Santi said. "Looking at the numbers, we're growing on average 4 to 5 percent a year. We would like to sit down and work out the problem. The PTO is even willing to give financial support. This can be resolved quickly and there is no reason why it can't be resolved by winter break. The pad is there, it's graded and designed to be built on."

Luna estimated the purchase and installation of one portable would cost $235,000, a price tag hard to swallow for some board members, given the district's tight budget.

"The bond proceeds are going towards projects the KIDS committee felt were the most important, safety and structural issues," board member Keith Roman said. "There is no money in the general fund. We are letting people go. This is not an option at this time."

"From my perspective, right now is not the time to prudently solve this," added board member Sharla Hales. "From my perspective, we need help looking at the big picture. Portables may not be what we want. Maybe the right thing is a pod. I want to look at all facility needs. I'd rather keep the status quo, knowing student achievement won't suffer, and then get it right later."

However, parents argued that student achievement is being affected by the overcrowding, particularly in team classrooms.

"A team class isn't always the best environment for a student," said incoming PTO president and mother Torry Johnson. "It's better suited for some kids than others."

Liz Biasotti, parent of two, agreed.

"It's very difficult for a lot of students," she said. "In regular classrooms, students can usually go to a reading area. In a team class, they can't do that. They're stuck."

Lark said there is little evidence that team classrooms have a negative effect on student achievement.

"We found very little on the difference in academic achievement between traditional classes and team classes," she said.

She said conversion of the storage room will reduce Pinon Hills team classes from three to two. She also pointed out that Pinon Hills is not the only school with team classrooms: Scarselli Elementary has two, and Jacks Valley Elementary has three.

"The student-teacher ratio is the same at all schools," Lark said.

Board member Teri Jamin said Pinon Hills has always been successful academically, something that might have contributed to its overcrowding, as parents have sought out the school for its high marks. Jamin suggested the issue of team classrooms be addressed in another way.

"If some team classes are working better than others, maybe that can be a subject of discussion during teacher collaboration days," she said.

Board President Cindy Trigg told parents that the district would continue exploring options, including the temporary lease of a portable.

"Perhaps there is a way that won't take three or five years," she said. "You've made it clear that it's a priority, and, having been out to the school myself, it's a priority for me, too."