Timeline for Red Cedar School Re-Opening Released

On Tuesday, East Lansing Public Schools administration released a timeline for the reopening of Red Cedar Elementary School. The planned schedule indicates that decision-makers will decide within the next week where the students will come from to populate the K-5 classrooms.

This schedule does not ease the concerns of two East Lansing Board of Education members who still feel the process is moving way too quickly.

“As I have expressed from the beginning of this process, I am concerned that our limited administrative staff will be unable to meet the requirements of reopening an entire pre-K to 5th grade building in the timeline presented,” wrote Board Trustee Kate Powers.

Trustee Hillary Henderson says the timeline proves that there simply isn’t enough time to answer all the questions of parents and educators.

“The release of the timeline for re-opening Red Cedar shows how rushed District staff will be in providing financials, creating a new program, filling student seats and getting the building ready by the Fall of 2016. District residents have every right to have their questions answered about how much this endeavor will cost, if it is sustainable, where students will come from and what impact this will have on the other Elementary, Middle and High Schools,” she wrote.

School Board members Kath Edsall, Yasmina Bouraoui, Nell Kuhnmuench, Karen Hoene and Erin Graham did not respond to requests for comment.

The “catchment district” which will determine what students are assigned to Red Cedar Elementary school is one of the top concerns of parents questioning the decision to re-open the shuttered elementary school. The students who had once attended Red Cedar are now assigned to Glencairn Elementary School, along with the entire staff and administration.

Edsall, the lead Board proponent of reopening Red Cedar, promised parents that no redistricting would take place in order to fill Red Cedar. However, she has also said that the school would be considered the “neighborhood school” for families in the Flowerpot Neighborhood and Spartan Village whose children are now attending Glencairn.

The new timeline also shows the administration adjusting the quarterly budget this month to cover the cost for “start-up and planning costs for Red Cedar.”

Schools Superintendent Robyne Thompson confirmed that the document circulated Tuesday was a product of her administration.

“The document was created with the assistance of our consultant and my cabinet,” she wrote in an email.

The consultant hired as facilitator is Rossi Ray-Taylor who worked with the Board’s committee on finding alternative programming for Red Cedar.

The full timeframe (visible here) includes:

• January 2016: Quarterly budget adjustment includes start-up and planning costs for re-opening Red Cedar; site visit to Ann Arbor Northside STEAM; attendance area recommendation; communications and out-reach update.
• February 2016: Detailed 2016-17 budget; building administration and staffing update; facility update including facility review from architect.
• March 2016: Partnership update – initial partners identified; supplies, furnishing, equipment orders placed; permeable boundaries/within district choice window opens; technology update – technology needs and strategies identified; Red Cedar Principal selected; enrollment analyzed for potential Schools of Choice slots.
• April 2016: Teaching staff selected, curriculum update.
• May 2016: Schools of Choice slots for 2016-17 announced; professional development update – PD summer schedule published.
• June 2016: Schools of Choice application period and lottery.
• August 2016: Preview opening activities; Professional development; Red Cedar Site preparation completed.
• September 6, 2016: School starts at Red Cedar.

Meanwhile, some parents are circulating a petition throughout the District to protest the use of limited school resources and funds to reopen a school that they consider unnecessary. Parents Jennifer Lathom and Sarah Holden brought the petition to the Glencairn School Association Tuesday night.

“We are not saying ‘no’ to another building. It’s about figuring out the other needs,” Lathom said. “The question is, is this the right thing for us? … We are asking them to slow down and make sure they are not negatively impacting other schools.”

The full wording of the petition is available at http://4elschoolkids.com/

The East Lansing Board of Education meets next Monday, January 25 at 7 p.m. in East Lansing High School. Public comments are welcomed.