September 12, 2000

To: The Batavia School Board

On August 29, 2000, a parents' meeting was held for west side residents whose children currently attend Alice Gustafson and H.C. Storm schools. The meeting was held to discuss Equal Choice issues and to allow parents to ask questions which would be forwarded to you. Since that meeting several questions have been received and are listed below. Our intent is to provide you with these questions prior to the September 28 forum so you will have ample time to prepare responses to share with us that night. Rosalie Jones also has a list of questions she received the evening she met with Equal Choice parents. Since we have not heard anything regarding those questions, we assume they will be answered on the 28^th as well.

The questions below are from various west side parents and are diverse in their content:

What is your definition of a "choice school"?
How was the decision made to make the new west side school completely MI?
Why weren't parents invited to participate in this decision?
Why haven't there been any public announcements made about this decision?
Is there any consideration for two teaching methods as the "equal choice" group has proposed?
Is busing going to be supplied for anyone who would like to attend the new west side school?
What will be the acceptance process for families seeking entrance into the MI program?
What about parents who do not desire to have their kids participate in the MI program; what process will they go through to be considered for another school and how will that school be determined?
What choice(s) do parents have who do not want to participate in the MI program? Are they the same for everyone; the same for younger siblings; the same for new residents?
Why is the new west side school we voted for in the referendum to alleviate overcrowding at Storm and Gustafson going to be used exclusively for the McWayne MI program?
Why do you feel it is OK to treat people differently in this community? (showing partiality to some and taking away from others)
Are we getting a new school on the west side? Why does Steve Caliendo say it's just a new building for McWayne?
How many new teachers will be hired due to the two new schools opening in 2001? Will the new teachers for the west side school be trained in MI methods?
Will the number of children in each classroom in all the elementary schools be reduced when the new schools open (Many have 27 or more students now), or, is the number of children attending each school being reduced but not the class size?
If the west side school houses both types of programs as proposed by Equal Choice will all teachers at that school have to go through some type of interview process to be selected to teach there, or just the traditional method teachers?
What are we to think when some of the McWayne teachers and the principal choose to send their own children to the other "conventional" Batavia schools, but tell us that the McWayne program is by far the best program for children? They have the choice which program to choose and have not chosen the very program they endorse; yet, the westsiders will not have that choice.
McWayne was originally started to alleviate overcrowding and now that won't be a problem with two new schools opening. Why aren't we back to neighborhood schools? Why is it still in existence?
If this program is already implemented throughout the city, why are you busing kids across town and labeling one school? People continue to tell us it is not any different than the other schools.
What are the reasons the conventional and MI programs can't coexist in one building?
We're paying the same taxes, why aren't we getting the same choices?
What does "boundaries that maintain choice" mean?
The January 18 board minutes list parent concerns from the forum. It lists "maintain parent choice about schools". The February 22 minutes state "maintain choice for McWayne", while a memo from Ed Cave dated February 23 states "boundaries which maintain choice". How did we go from "parent choice to choice for McWayne"?
When do we vote for a new PTO for the new west side school?
On the assumption we will be forced to attend the MI program: Will there be a separate second and third grade or will there only be the multi-age classroom?
If there will only be multi-age and given I object to my third grader being in multi-age, how will you accommodate my child?
Given my children will be in a program I don't support, if something is being done or not being done in the classroom that I object to, how helpful will Kevin be to my family? How much authority will he have to meet my children's needs per my request or will he have to get your OK?
Why should west side residents have to answer any questions regarding a choice of program when no other residents in this community have to answer questions?
What is the procedure residents need to follow to opt out of the MI program?
Why should anyone have to request to attend a conventional program when the "norm" in this community currently is the conventional program?
Why doesn't the board remain in their current building and rent/purchase additional storefront adjacent to it if more space is needed? There seems to be plenty of space nearby.
Many McWayne parents requested a central location for MI. Why doesn't McWayne remain open for attendance in its central location with additional repairs made to bring it up to life safety standards? I heard from a McWayne parent that a new roof, air conditioning, and new heating have already been added this year. What additional steps would need to be taken to meet the standards?
With the higher than expected growth on the east side and the possibility of a new subdivision in town, won't we need the classroom space at McWayne again in a few years?
When we voted for the two new schools, we were not told of one school being conventional and one school being dedicated to the alternate method of instruction. People on the referendum committee have said they didn't know it either. Why was this information withheld from the community?