JEFFERSON — A four-part plan to redistrict elementary-school students in the Jefferson Area Local School District will be presented to the School Board at tonight’s meeting, Superintendent Doug Hladek said Monday.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Jefferson Area High School library.
The issue has raised a lot of concern among parents during the past couple of months. Hladek said the first part of the plan is to redistrict the students to balance the numbers at Rock Creek and Jefferson elementary schools.
The decision to redistrict students arose after the Ohio School Facilities Commission allowed the district to build two small elementary schools rather than one large school. Building the two schools was contingent upon the number of students in each school. With enrollment consistently decreasing in the district, the only way the two schools could be built was to shift some of the Jefferson Elementary students to Rock Creek, board president David Keep explained at a previous meeting.
Jefferson Elementary was built to accommodate 650 students, while Rock Creek Elementary was built to house 450 students. The projected number of students, without counting kindergarten students, is 501 at Jefferson Elementary and 340 at Rock Creek, Hladek said. The district is projecting approximately 130 kindergarten students, which will be divided between the two schools.
“We knew all along we were going to have to do this,” Hladek said. “Families will be impacted.”
Hladek said the main concerns among families are before and after-school day care and the length of bus rides. Right now, there are no day-care facilities in Rock Creek. However, a plan is in the works for a day care once the Rock Creek Area Projects Board takes possession of the old school building.
Not only will the redistricting affect families, but also it will affect the district’s staff, as well, Hladek said. The second part of the plan is to redistrict the staff, including teachers and classified staff.
The third part of the plan will be deciding what equipment the district will keep from the old buildings and move into the new ones.
The fourth part of the plan will be to continue to work on the curriculum and keep it aligned with state content standards, he said.
“The positive in all of this is two brand-new buildings are opening up,” Hladek said. “We are proud of our staff and of the curriculum we offer at both schools.”
Local News
Jefferson schools to present plans for redistricting tonight
- Local News
-
-
Sports, academics to come together
SPIRE Institute will expand its educational base and accept international students into its sports performance programs through a partnership with the Andrews Osborne Academy, Ted Meekma, SPIRE management team member, announced Wednesday.
-
Grand Valley sixth grader wins Ashtabula County Spelling Bee
James Elliott, a sixth grader at Grand Valley Middle School, clinched his win of the 29th annual Ashtabula County Area V Spelling Bee by successfully spelling the words “physique” and “daffodil.”
-
Conneaut Chamber lauds top citizen, ‘Champions’
Nicholas Iarocci, Conneaut’s 2011 Citizen of the Year, needed plenty of gulps of water to complete his acceptance speech Tuesday night.
-
Conneaut’s unpaved roads will get priority status in 2012
Secondary roads in Conneaut will get the lion’s share of attention from the Public Works’ Department this year, said City Manager Tim Eggleston.
-
Felony charge filed in robbery
An Ashtabula woman who police said grabbed a woman’s purse inside a Conneaut supermarket late Monday afternoon faces a felony charge in Conneaut Municipal Court, according to reports.
-
Ashtabula County building projects readied for bids
Up to four improvement projects for county-owned buildings are being lined up for bids in the next month.
-
City of Ashtabula looking for new auditor
Six candidates have applied for city auditor, which City Council President J.P. Ducro IV says he hopes to fill by the end of March.
-
Red Cross holding breakfast for ‘Community Heroes’
The Red Cross Community Heroes Breakfast will honor 12 county residents March 3 at the Bernard Vacca Community Center.
-
New film showcases county’s scenic rivers
Ohio’s Scenic Rivers program, which protects stretches of 14 waterways — including three in Ashtabula County — is the focus of a new movie by a Dayton-based independent filmmaker.
-
Students can donate clothing to Goodwill
Many Ashtabula Area City Schools students will find themselves cleaning out their closets this week.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Sports, academics to come together
