Meeting sparks debate on K-8 school plan

Concerns about a proposed kindergarten-eighth-grade school in the Valley kicked off discussion of the school district's new master plan on Thursday night.

"You're going to have a group of kids walk into the high school who've been sheltered," said parent Michelle Martin, who next year will have one child at Pinon Hills Elementary, one child at Carson Valley Middle School and one child at Douglas High School. "We're a district with limited funds. With the cost it would take to change the school and make it feasible, would it be cost effective?"

Husband Troy Martin questioned whether younger children should be mixed in with seventh- and eighth-graders.

"What effect will it have if younger kids get a lot more exposure to older kids, to drugs?" he asked.

The Martins were two of about 30 parents, district staff and board members who attended the town hall meeting.

MGT of America's $200,000 facilities master plan, which school board members are expected to vote on March 9, calls for three phases over the next 10 years totaling about $58 million.

Phase 1 would include renovating and expanding Pinon Hills, Meneley, Gardnerville and Jacks Valley elementary schools.

Phase 2 would entail renovating Douglas High School to accommodate incoming ninth-graders, closing one middle school, and renovating the other for the Valley's seventh- and eighth-grade students. In addition, one elementary school in the Valley would be converted into the kindergarten-eighth-grade school, while the empty middle school would be used for administrative offices, professional development and a possible career and technical education center.

Phase 3 would consist of converting Whittell High School at the Lake into a kindergarten-12th-grade school, and renovating Scarselli Elementary in the Valley.

In response to concerns about the kindergarten-eighth-grade proposal, MGT principal William Carnes said the school would help strengthen the neighborhoods it serves, versus busing all students to one middle school if the other is closed.

"We found that when kids make a transition, their test scores go down," Carnes said. "We're seeing across America a lot of people looking at the K-8 model."

Board member Cindy Trigg said the model would allow parents to choose between a more elementary-school-like environment or a more traditional middle school setting.

"It's a choice for parents," she said.

Nancy Hamlett, who works for the district's special services department, said the school district once tried putting grades 6-8 at CVMS.

"The sixth-graders weren't mature enough," she said. "In this case, I don't think the difference in maturity level is warranted."

Board Vice President Tom Moore asked why MGT did not specify which school site to convert into the K-8 school.

Tim Haley of Stafford King Wiese, which helped MGT develop the plan, said they theoretically could make a recommendation right now, but preferred more in-depth studies of the potential school sites. MGT gave a similar answer regarding which Valley middle school to close.

Lawrence Howell, vice chair of the Keep Improving Douglas Schools Committee and county commission candidate, said voters worry the new master plan is a "bait and switch."

"We sold one thing during the bond campaign, and then something else happens," he said. "This plan has to address that. If you don't address it, suggestions and rumors will kill everything in it."

District Chief Financial Officer Holly Luna said it's her responsibility to make sure the KIDS Committee's priority list is implemented concurrent with whatever master plan recommendations the board adopts.

She pointed to KIDS priorities already completed by the district's energy services contract and last year's $3.5 million bond issuance, including new outdoor lighting for Douglas High School, replacement of portions of DHS's roof, a new air system and boiler at Whittell High School, and the re-keying of both high schools so that teachers can lock their doors from the inside.

"We wouldn't be here today having a discussion about a facilities master plan if it weren't for the hard work of the KIDS Committee," Luna said.

She said the master plan is a high-level plan, while the KIDS priority list addresses specific improvements.

"My job is to come back and meld those documents," she said. "The district has made a commitment to the KIDS Committee list."

There was also debate about moving ninth-graders in the Valley back to the high school, which would cost an estimated $23 million in renovations.

"It seems so simple to do, but it's not," said Carnes. "There are curriculum concerns and dramatic space issues, which all take time to plan for."

Parent Michelle Martin, who has a ninth-grader at CVMS, said freshmen in the Valley don't feel like high-schoolers.

"It's almost in a sense humiliating," she said. "Even if they have to stay, there must be some things we can do here to make them feel more like high-schoolers."

Luna said that even though the DHS renovation is in phase 2 of the master plan, work on the transition would begin sooner, assuming the board adopts the recommendation.

"It's reverse engineering," she said. "We may break ground in five years, but what would happen in preparation? It would have to start with educational curriculum."

The facilities master plan, along with about 200 pages of appendices, can be viewed on the district's Web site at http://dcsd.k12.nv.us.