High School Likely to Be Preschool Home

By BARRY SMITH

SPACE CRUNCH

The preschool program at the Lillian M. Jacobs School likely will move to Hull High School for the next school year.

Relocating the preschool classes has been proposed to ease a space crunch that the Jacobs School will face while it is being renovated.

School officials discussed the proposed relocation last night but postponed a final decision until early next month.

School Superintendent Paula Delaney said that, with some floor- space adjustments, the high school can accommodate the three preschool classes.

David Twombly, the school department’s operations director, said the department is considering a plan to partition the high school’s second-floor exhibition area, creating two rooms, while using partitions to create a third room off of the first-floor library.

He said he would be asking both the fire department and building inspector to review the proposal.

School committee Vice Chairman Kevin Richardson said one concern that parents have is putting preschool children in rooms on the second floor.

Sharon Dillard of Cadish Avenue, parent of a preschooler, expressed concern that the 3- and 4-year-olds would have to go down stairs during an emergency.

She also said that some kind of platform would have to be built in high school lavatories to be used by the preschoolers, who might need help reaching the sinks, for example.

Dillard also expressed concern about the location of a school parking lot in relation to the site of the children’s play area.

Richardson told Dillard that he appreciated her concerns, and he deemed safety “our number-one priority.”

School officials, including Principal Jonathan Ford, have considered the possibility of putting all three preschool classes in the first-floor library.

Twombly said the library area has enough floor space to accommodate three preschool classes but questioned whether the move would create too much upheaval for the library.

Ford said it would “obviously be an inconvenience, but I think it’s worth looking into.”

The high school has an elevator that the preschoolers could use, but it would be off-limits during an emergency.

Barry Smith may be reached at bsmith@ledger.com.

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