Athens School Board members prefer single campus for elementary buildings | Local News

The five members of the Athens City School Board appeared to discover at a meeting Thursday night that they all support a single-campus plan for elementary buildings in the district, though many details must be worked out regarding the number of buildings on a single campus and the type of grade-level configuration those buildings would have.

The School Board did not vote on anything or make any decisions during its meeting at Athens High School, but simply held a discussion to figure out how each member stands on what would be best for the elementary buildings.

Over the last 15 months, the Athens City School District has spent a significant portion of its meeting time engaging in dialogue with community members about the needs for students as they relate to aging school buildings. The district formed a Facilities Steering Committee to review the current makeup of district buildings, taking into consideration locations, grades served, and the needs of students.

The committee’s final report presented three options to the board, though they did not rank them. All three options have grades nine through 12 at Athens High School (in The Plains) as they are now. All three options also move sixth grade into a renovated Athens Middle School (near uptown Athens) along with seventh and eighth grades.

For elementary schools, the first option (the one preferred by School Board members) is a single campus with multiple buildings; the second would retain two current locations with rebuilds of one building for students through second grade and another building for students from third through fifth grades; the third option would also retain two current locations with rebuilds of two pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade buildings. 

A fourth, compromise option, also has been put forward; it would make a renovated Plains Elementary home to all children in fourth, fifth and perhaps sixth grades, while two other current locations would have re-built schools for pre-kindergarten through third grade.

On Thursday, the School Board asked Supt. Tom Gibbs and other administrators to work out a plan regarding what the sixth-grade program would look like and how it would work with regard to classes and schedules if sixth-graders were moved to the Middle School.

The board also discussed members’ personal preferences with regard to the various options, and discovered by the end that all members appear to think the single elementary campus with multiple school buildings is the preferable option.

One big advantage of this option is that Ohio University has offered to donate land at The Ridges, on a high plateau near the Dairy Barn Arts Center, to the district for this elementary campus, as well as to create a partnership, though details of that partnership have not been determined at this point.

In talking over their preferences at this point, School Board member Kim Goldsberry expressed her preference for a single-campus at The Ridges with grade-level buildings.

That would mean that all students in certain grade levels would attend the same building. So one building on the campus might have pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade, the next with second and third grades, and a third with fourth and fifth grades.

The question of two or three buildings on the campus is a sticking point, because the district will have to bear more of the cost (compared to how much the state of Ohio will contribute) if they decide to have three buildings versus two. However, the disadvantage of only two buildings is that the number of students in a given building may get pretty high.

The board did decide Thursday to have an engineer look at The Ridges property and come up with a presentation on how many buildings can fit on the property and how the layout would be with required parking. The land is behind the Carriage Hill and Summit at Coates Run apartment complexes off of Richland Avenue on the city’s South Side.

Board member Bruce Nottke stated his preference for a single campus with two grade-level buildings.

If the district decides on two buildings, one option Nottke discussed was one building with pre-K through second grade, and another with third grade through fifth grade. 

Third-grade teachers expressed concerns about this proposal, however, citing their coordination with second-grade teachers as third-grade students face high-stakes testing. Also, with that high-stakes testing, some teachers said, third grade isn’t a good year for a transition to a new building.

Board member Rusty Rittenhouse also stated his preference for a single campus for elementary buildings, and a grade-level building concept on that single campus. He did not indicate a preference as of Thursday for two buildings on that campus versus three buildings or the grade-level split but said he’d be open to discussion.

Board member Roger Brown also indicated support for a single elementary campus with grade-level buildings, but likewise did not indicate a preference at this point for how many buildings and how the grade levels should be divided.

Finally, board member Chris Gerig said his preference is also a single elementary campus as of now. Gerig said that he would like to see two pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade buildings on that campus, but also said he’s open to discussion of the grade-level building concept.

The School Board decided to hold a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 5, to further discuss the various options.