Champaign board plans special meeting to consider school options
CHAMPAIGN – School officials have proposed a compromise to address concerns of the black community – replacing and enlarging Washington School instead of building in Boulder Ridge.
The board will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Friday at district headquarters, 703 S. New St., to consider that and any other options that might emerge.
On the table: a proposal to cancel construction of the school in northwest Champaign's Boulder Ridge Subdivision, a location approved by school board members Monday night that shocked some members of the black community.
The alternative: tear down Washington School, in the heart of the black community, build a new three-strand, two-story school there and build extra space at Garden Hills to satisfy consent decree requirements.
A $66 million building bond proposal that would authorize funds for that work plus construction of a new school at Savoy, rebuilding Dr. Howard and major renovations at the other older elementary schools goes to voters Tuesday.
The compromise, suggested by Superintendent Arthur Culver, was a turning point at a contentious Wednesday afternoon meeting of the district's planning and implementation committee, which reviews progress on educational equity.
"What I'm hearing is that the board should go back and take a look at it," Culver said after sometimes-bitter debate about the board's action and the proposed site, which is 2 miles west of Mattis Avenue.
"The only way to do it would be to tear down BTW and instead of using $10 million to build a new school, use it to build a new three-strand school there," Culver said. "And we could use the $4.6 million for improvements at BTW to build another strand at Garden Hills. That will put two additional strands of classes right in the heart of the African-American community."
"Meeting the spirit of the consent decree is as important or more important than meeting the letter of the agreement," he said. "It will be easy to shift the plans, but we'll have to educate the public."
Officials searched the north side of the city for 10-acre sites for a new elementary school to fill their overdue obligation under the decree to build two new strands of classes north of University Avenue. Gene Logas, chief financial officer, said Monday the only suitable site was the one north of Bradley Avenue and east of Staley Road.
Logas said the district looked at several potential sites and rejected one at Oak Street and Bradley Avenue because it was close to railroad tracks and an asphalt plant and would require extensive infrastructure investments. Two sites zoned for commercial development were rejected because of costs, $2 million and $3.5 million.
Officials also rejected the idea of tearing down homes to create a site because the use of eminent domain is an unpopular option.
The Boulder Ridge choice created a flood of protests because it's a neighborhood likely to have a primarily white population. Also, the 1.5-mile proximity zone the district considers for schools of choice would include only Boulder Ridge and Sawgrass and housing directly south and west of Parkland College – a primarily white area.
"I'm pleased to hear Superintendent Culver say there are alternatives," said Champaign County Board member Patricia Avery, who attended the meeting. "I don't know what the rush is to pick a site. The Boulder Ridge site totally misses what the community that cares about the consent decree wants. It misses the mark. It's a huge step backward."
"I've already voted absentee for the referendum," said Doug West of Champaign, who regularly attends school board and committee meetings. "If you will take your idea to the board, I'll be relieved. I think rebuilding BTW is a tremendous idea."
"When I heard about the proposed site Monday night, I'm thinking, 'How can I support the referendum if the district has made that decision?" said county board member Catherine Hogue, who also said she liked Culver's proposal better.
Tracy Parsons, head of the Urban League of Champaign County, questioned why the Oak and Bradley site was rejected out of hand.
"They just built a lot of public housing there," Parson said. "I guess the feeling is, it's good enough for those poor folks."
He suggested school officials look at a large tract of land west of Prospect Avenue and north of Bradley Avenue near the Developmental Services Center.
Parsons also said members of the white community will have to adjust their attitudes that help create inequities in schools.
"White people are going to have to change their minds about going into the black community, about their children going to school on the north end," he said.
Carol Ashley, the lawyer who attended the meeting to represent the plaintiffs whose legal action resulted in the consent decree, said her clients have supported the referendum.
"It was difficult because people aren't happy about the school in Savoy," Ashley said. "I'm trying to get to the place where I see this difficulty as a bump in the road."
William Trent, a University of Illinois education expert who oversees the equity committee meetings, said the discussion and suggested resolution shows how far the district and the black community have come.
"You took a really tough issue, you treated each other with respect, and that's a reflection of the progress this committee has made," Trent said.
He applauded Culver's willingness to look at another option with board members.
"There are real education issues at stake, serious issues related to access and opportunities to learn and parental involvement," Trent said. "These are compelling reasons to go back to look at what best serves the educational needs of the community."
Are you kidding? Cancel the school and do what? It's pathetic that parents that live on the north end of town don't want their kids going to Stratoon because it's in an unsafe neighborhood. Now the school district proposes putting a new school on the north end of town in a safe neighborhood and parents complain about it. Maybe we should builf 6 empty schools on Market St in order to fulfill the requirements of this ridiculous consent decree that never should have been entered into anyway.
"White people are going to have to change their minds about going into the black community, about their children going to school on the north end," he said.
Mr. Culver seeks "equality." Rather than doing anything to help the black community, he has chosen to drag whites down to whatever extent he is able. The result will be "equality" but will not be good for either the white or the black commmunities of Champaign. When he is done, and moves on to a larger better paying district, we wiill be the ones stuck with greater racial animosity AND worse schools for everybody.
It is troubling that Unit 4 is being held accountable in a manner of direct cause, for statistics that repeat themselves in communities throughout this country. And the implicit portrayal of this community as racist through statements like: if only we could embrace the idea that ALL children are capable of learning, has become insulting given the effort, money and years spent thus far trying to satisfy the consent decree. Unit 4 is being held hostage and irrepairably drained financially for things it did not directly cause. Sure it is the right thing to do, to try and do as much as can be done to help all children have a positive outcome in education and life. But, there needs to be some fudiciary responsibility here and a healthy balance between what the schools should be expected to do and be held accountable for, AND the role parentS play in their child's education and outcome. There really is only so much that schools and this community can do, given that money doesn't grow on trees! Where does this sense of entitlement come from? Maybe from misperceptions regarding how people achieve positive outcomes in life (and, yes, despite obstacles). Very few kids grow up with unlimited resources and money to assure their success in life. For not readily apparent reasons, the expectation of some seems to be that the sky's the limit when it comes to the Unit 4 School District in Champaign Illinois. The district and community 'owes' more than there is to possibly give. And unfortunately much of the lip service paid to the spirit of the consent decree comes across as somewhat disingenuous. There is little equality (for ALL children) in a School Choice system where kids run the risk of being rejected from their choice schools because they are of the wrong race. Another lawsuit waiting to happen. Fighting alleged discrimination with blatant discrimination. How far we have not come since the visionary dreams of Martin Luther King.
It is important to clear up a widespread misperception about current student capacity in Unit 4 schools.
Stratton has 26 classrooms that are limited to 20 students per class. This yields a total seating capacity of around 520 students. As of January, there were 330 students enrolled at Stratton, which at first glance suggests that nearly 200 seats must be sitting empty. However, this is not the case. According to the Family Information Center, there are currently just 60 seats available in the entire school.
People who claim there are over 200 empty seats at Stratton are considering only designated classroom capacity rather than the way the rooms are already being used. Here is how Stratton is currently allocating the nearly 200 seats of empty space:
* Three classrooms are being used every day for early childhood intervention programs with pre-kindergarten students.
* One classroom is being used every day as a computer lab.
* One classroom is being used every day as an art room.
* Other areas in Stratton house a reading recovery lab for training teachers.
There are no empty classrooms at Stratton, because Unit 4 is using the space to house a range of educational programs that enrich the experience of district students.
As a Unit 4 teacher, I am appalled. Once again, people in the community are doing their level best to discredit the district in the eyes of the community. And what great timing, just days before the referendum vote.
At the board meeting earlier this week, site options were presented. The amount of land needed to build a new school defines potential sites. The consent decree mandates that it be north of University. These two criteria left only 3 options: declaring emminent domain and displacing 60 families that the new building is designed to serve; placing a new school between a railroad track and asphalt company (major safety issues); or the suggested location off Bradley. Now there are those who say that this location does not meet the "spririt" of the decree.
Where were those voices way back at the beginning when the district initially suggested the changes to BTW and Garden Hills in lieu of a new building? At that time the complaint was that just refurbishing those schools didn't meet the spirit of the decree because the addressed population should have a new school.
I fail to see how it can be both ways. To me, this delay merely serves to provide opponents with another "see, the district can't be trusted" weapon, when in fact, the district has been operating in good faith and it is the opponents who block every turn. My greatest fear, besides a failed referendum, which as a teacher I can assure you is desperately needed for ALL Champaign students whether they be black, white, green, or purple, is that the this will be a factor in extending the consent decree, which several prominent opponents have recently suggested. Ask any teacher in the district and you will find that we all would prefer the $2,000,000 in annual legal fees be used to provide for our students, not lawyers. How anyone can, in good conscience, railroad this referendum in such a manner, and seek to extend the decree is beyond me. It continues to appear that these people are seeking personal gain and attention, not the best interests of the district students. The fact that a number of these opponents are parents of district students is even more astonishing. Shame on you!
I urge all voters to please continue to support the referendum. This schol is just one issue of many, and it is not fair to penalize the remaining schools because of a few people who cannot seem to seek a common good over their own. In the end, referendum money is strictly monitored, and the public can rest assured that, despite area naysayers, the money raised will be spent appropriately and honestly to support ALL Unit 4 students.
I second the comments of "teacher". Many people are unaware of the poor conditions in many of our elementary buildings. We are having to teach kids in closets and hallways, because our 50-year-old schools (older still in the cases of Dr. Howard and Southside) were built before the era of computer labs, English as a Second Language, counselling, learning enrichment, and special education.
Full details of the referendum, including floor plans for school-by-school renovations, are available at www.u4excellence.org
Whether you plan to support or oppose the referendum, I would hope that you take the time to get informed about the conditions of our schools, what the referendum would do, and why proponents say it is so badly needed.
I have a great idea! If the existing schools are too cramped, we should build 2 new schools and lift the burden. Maybe we should just do that and maintenance and save ourselves millions of dollars. As for clearing up this widespread misconception about Stratton...You are correct...The classrooms aren't filled, so the district is becoming creative and utilizing the space for other programs. Th ta doesn't change the fact that families don't want to send their children over there and won't want to send them to Market or Bradley either. We as a community all know(even if we won't say it) that nobody prefers to live on the North end of town and anyone that can afford it would move to the South side of town. How many people that live on the North end would prefer to live in Cherry Hills and attend Barkstall? I'm sick of hearing people say that people are going to have to get over their problems and become willing to send their kids into those communities. Not even the people in those communities want to send their children to those communities.
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