Here is the email that I just sent to Dr. Caine. I suggest you all do the same. Dr. Caine, I am extremely disappointed in yours and the Board’s decision to vote on the proposal before any other options had been presented. This is a gross misuse of your power. I think that you are making a huge mistake. This move upsets the balance of the schools and seriously undermines the stability that our children need. I truly hope that you will revisit this matter as just about every parent in the district is against this decision. Why do we have an athletic director that do not teach classes? Why is the athletic department not taking any cuts even though they were offered? Why are you getting rid of the SROs when most other districts are increasing their SRO presence? We had a shooting last year at the junior high, yet you want to remove the one security officer for that school altogether? Why is the district purchasing the old Kicker building? From what I understand it is earmarked to be the new bus barn, but that facility is not well suited for storing the busses. It has a small parking lot and the garage won’t even fit a bus, it is not tall enough. These questions need to be answered before you enter into some half-baked plan to restructure the entire grade system and gut the security program that the City of Stillwater has provided at a substantial discount to the district. We take the education of our students very seriously, but you need to stop trying to mimic the University with athletic villages, athletic directors, and multiple building sites that sit unused. Use the facilities we have, rehab the buildings that are already owned. Stop buying property and conserve the SROs. The Highland Park school could be rehabbed to serve as a district-wide Pre-K center, saving all of the room from the existing schools, eliminating the need to move all the grades up one level. 9th graders do not belong in high school, period.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 03:32:56 +0000