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Groveport Board OKs End to Split Sessions

Posted on: Thursday, 26 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Charlie Roduta, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Jan. 26--With no solution to overcrowding in place, the newly elected Groveport Madison school board last night chose to stay with an October plan to end split sessions by the 2006-07 school year.

It had been a plan that Superintendent Timm Mackley had supported because he said he didn't want split sessions to be an issue in the November election.

But when he attempted to reinstate the split sessions at last night's meeting, the board voted 3-2 against his proposal.

Against the recommendation of Mackley and Treasurer Anne Spano, the board decided to return to school grade levels instead of maintaining split sessions at the junior high and high school.

"My biggest fear is that we don't pull everything together before the start of the school year," Mackley said before the vote. "In August, we'll be dealing with chaos."

The vote means that elementary schools will return to grades K-5; middle schools will house grades 6-8; the high school will revert to a 10-12 building; and freshmen will have their own building.

That's the way it was in 2003 when the split sessions started to alleviate an overburdened junior high and high school.

With the splits, the elementary schools were grades K-4; middle schools housed grades 5-6; the junior high held grades 7-8; and the high school was for grades 9-12.

Classes started as early as 7 a.m. and ended as late as 6:28 p.m.

"It's worked for us in the past, it's what we're built for," board member John Kershner said of the traditional schedule.

Kershner, Patti Froelich and Naomi Sealey -- all elected in November -- voted to end split sessions. They had campaigned on a promise to do so.

Meanwhile, board members June Gibbs and Teresa Burch sided with the superintendent.

"I don't like split sessions, but I feel we should trust our professionals to give us direction," Gibbs said.

She said she doesn't feel comfortable ending split sessions without an exit plan.

Now, the board and administrators have to figure out how to end the split sessions and cover such things as busing, student enrollments and possible purchases of portable classrooms.

They also must deal with an emergency operating levy that will expire in December. The levy generates about $4.5 million.

To help in the effort, the board is inviting the public to join committees 11 a.m. Saturday at the district's administration offices.

In a work session before the meeting, the board discussed options to deal with overcrowding.

The plans had been suggested by a group of administrators, parents and staff who studied alternatives to split sessions. They varied from adding portable classes to the junior high and high school to changing the grade levels at the schools.

Mackley said he wanted to maintain the split session schedule until a bond issue passes.

For the fifth time in three years, voters in November rejected a $34.4 million request for a new junior high and additional high-school space.

But now faced with an expiring operating levy, community members voiced their concerns.

"The public is tired of getting the runaround," said parent John Snoke. "If you want that operating levy, get rid of split sessions."

The decision was met with applause from the more than 70 parents and residents who attended yesterday's meeting.

"Our parents are going to be happy, our community is going to be happy, our kids are going to be happy," said Lee Hess, whose wife works as an elementary school counselor in the district. They have two sons who graduated from Groveport Madison High School.

croduta@dispatch.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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