Town Hall meeting focuses on facility use

By Pete Banda
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Rumors have been swirling around the city for years at the Veterans Memorial Ninth Grade Academy (VMA) would eventually be utilized as something more than just a campus for Freshmen. That idea seems closer than ever to becoming a reality after Trustees held a town hall meeting last week to discuss several possible changes regarding the use of school facilities. Among the topics discussed were transforming the VMA into a campus for ninth and tenth graders, changing the location of both the Positive Redirection Center (PRC) and Gateway Academy, as well as what Board Members called “overcrowding” at the High School.
The meeting was the first of two scheduled Town Hall meetings and was held at Riverside Middle School. Approximately 80 people showed up to the event, with many voicing their concerns and opinions to the listening Trustees. The presentation started off with Superintendent Dr. Nate Carman giving a brief rundown of the use of facilities. According to numbers provided by Carman, the district could greatly improve efficiency by simply amending how they currently use each campus.
Carman noted how elementary campuses were using just 65 percent of their total classroom space while students at the Gateway Academy and PRC were working in portable buildings – something Carman would like to change.
“One option would be moving PRC and Gateway permanently into the elementary campus with the lowest enrollment, and then distributing the children at that campus into surrounding elementary schools, but again, these are only suggestions,” Carman stated. “Another idea would be to move PRC and gateway students to a portion of the VMA that is not being used. We definitely want to get away from using portable buildings for students permanently.”

 

For the full story, pick up a copy of the San Benito News, in stores now!

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2017/11/13/town-hall-meeting-focuses-on-facility-use/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.