“RISD has the highest percentage of over-65 taxpayers in the State of Texas,” said RISD finance guru Tony Harkleroad, explaining the need for new classrooms at Merriman Park Elementary. “As this population seeks new housing, the people who move into their homes are likely to have school-age children. In Lake Highlands, this ‘regreening’ is happening faster than the demographers predicted.”
Harkleroad, Asst. Superintendent for Finance and Support Services, said all Lake Highlands schools are running at or near capacity, and MPE’s strong growth is expected to continue. Students who live in the MPE zone are “overflowed” to Lake Highlands Elementary, Moss Haven, and other campuses by bus.
At the first MPE meeting, the proposal to add new classrooms was met with parent and community opposition. Wednesday night, Harkelroad ran through the pros and cons of the various alternatives, including building a new school (adds capacity but takes time), redrawing boundary lines (evens numbers but is unpopular and adds no capacity), installing portables (adds capacity but is a security risk), and moving 6th graders to junior high (adds capacity to elementary but adds to staffing costs and JH capacity is currently insufficient).
Building classrooms, he said, will honor the neighborhood school concept, keep LH kids in an LH feeder pattern, maintain stability in boundary lines, immediately reduce overflow, and reduce transportation costs for overflow bus routes.
Harkleroad displayed architectural drawings (which he repeatedly stressed were preliminary) showing six 725 sq. ft. classrooms and three smaller breakout rooms for small group or individual instruction. The addition would run along the southern wall between the current building and the playground.
Some parents weren’t convinced.
“What happens when our enrollment trends back downward, as the demographer projects? Who is going to fill up these six classrooms when these other schools around LH have explosive growth?” asked MPE dad J. Carrell.
“Our community is all for kids within our attendance area attending their home school,” said another dad, “but it looks like the transfers we take in equal the overflows we send out. It’s a wash. We don’t need to spend the $2 million.”
“If you build six classrooms but only need four, how will the open space get filled?” asked Mike Mata. “Could you fill it today with a science lab or larger music room? Throw us a bone,” Mata joked. “Six is a big chunk.”
Other parents were ready to build.
“You’ve shown compelling data that MPE kids are being bused to different schools,” added one dad. “Why in the world would we not expand? Because kids might be bused into our school? Why is that a bad thing?”
“Why would you not want these classrooms and these kids?” asked an African American mom of 3, who said she specifically rented at Montecito Palms Apartments so her kids could attend MPE. “This school is a spectacular school.”
Dr. Kay Waggoner described the process of overflowing students as shared with her by an RISD teacher.
All the kids show up to their home school when school begins, she said, and RISD staff work to place overflow kids and their families on an individualized basis.
“It absolutely breaks my heart,” the teacher told Waggoner. “We develop a relationship, then they leave”.
An MPE teacher at the meeting agreed.
“I started out the year with 34 kids, and I had them 5 weeks. I saw 5th grade boys cry the day they left. Their friends were so upset.”
In addition to MPE families, LHE parents were in attendance as stakeholders.
“I’m freaking out because y’all are talking about not expanding,” said one LHE dad. “It’s insane to me. Why ask LH or any other school to take these students on? It’s inherently unfair.”
“The reason our kids went to LHE or MHE is because those schools had empty rooms,” replied one MPE mom. “It’s not because we’re picking on them.”
Extra classrooms could result in smaller class sizes, stressed Dr. Fernando Medina, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. In fact, if MPE had had six more space this year, many classrooms may have seen 18 students instead of 22, he said.
Several parents asked about the long-term ramifications of “regreening” and about RISD plans for expansion to junior highs and the high school down the road.
“Forest Meadow is adding ten classrooms and LHJH has capacity,” said Dr. Waggoner. “We’re currently looking at LHHS needs for the 2016 bond.”
No matter what RISD decides, PTA president Liz Kluever is optimistic about the future of Merriman Park.
“MPE is an amazing place with a very strong support system of staff and parents. That won’t change regardless of an expansion.”
If you’d like to hear what RISD’s school board thinks about the issue, you can attend their meeting at the Admin building Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. They’ll vote on the matter Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.
