New DPS plan brings uncertainty

Will it be a path to success or merely more change for the weary?

After months of buildup and visions of major changes this fall, it appears Dayton Public Schools may only close one full-use school building for 2018-19 — the aging Valerie PreK-6 School in north- west Dayton.

But the surprise Tuesday night was that Acting Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli presented a threeyear plan with many other potential changes down the road, including the restructuring or closure of other schools depending on how enrollment evolves the next two years. The district’s seventh- and eighth-grade configuration would undergo significant change this fall.

The result? A lot of uncer- tainty, starting with whether the school board will approve this approach next week. But the big-picture question may be: can DPS convince families that it’s now headed in the right direction, or will yet another dose of change chase more families out of a district where enrollment has been declining?

“I hope the parents will give us an opportunity to show that this is

a better arrangement,” Lolli said. “If people will allow us to have that opportunity, I think we can prove to them that we are a changing school district.”

Several DPS parents engaged in a Facebook discussion Wednesday, strug- gling over whether to keep their children in the district, versus trying local charter, STEM or private schools. The middle school change and future uncertainty were major concerns.

“My gut reaction when (Lolli) said that — making another change — was you’ve got to be kidding me,” said Janine Jenista, a parent with students at Dayton’s Horace Mann PK-6 School.

Jenista pointed out that DPS is already “a couple of superintendents removed” from the decision just two years ago to move from a PreK-8 model to a middle school model. “Where are we giving our kids consistency, and giving them the support they need, in a district that so desperately needs con- sistency?” she said.

Top proposals now

Lolli recommended closing and demolishing Valerie and moving its students less than a mile west to Meadowdale PreK-6 School. Ironically, after all the talk of empty buildings, Valerie is the sec- ond most-full, at 82 percent capacity. It would merge with Meadowdale, which is one of the most empty.

“With that contain ed asbestos situation (at Valerie), I have to make sure that I do something with that old building,” Lolli said.

Lolli wants to consoli- date the district’s seventhand eighth-graders, who are spread across eight dif- ferent schools of different grade configurations, into four buildings with more uniform academic support. Lolli said that move would not make the middle schools (Wogaman, Wright Brothers and E.J. Brown) overcrowded. It would make Boys Prep and Meadowdale High School even emptier, though.

In moves not affecting traditional schools, Lolli suggested moving district headquarters across Ludlow Street to a smaller DPSowned building, and closing the Jackson Center building on Abbey Avenue. Alternative education and in-lieu-of-sus- pension programs at Jack- son Center would move to Ludlow. Multiple residents said they are still waiting to hear what the cost savings of those moves would be, if any.

Uncertain future

The larger uncertainty comes in Years 2 and 3 of the plan, which still requires school board approval.

Lolli said DPS should review Meadowdale and Dunbar High Schools, with the possibility of turning them into specialty schools, such as for gifted students or as a second career-tech school. A similar review was recom- mended for Thurgood Marshall and Belmont the following year. Lolli’s plan says during 2019-20, the district should “determine if a high school needs to be closed” for fall 2020.

“Meadowdale High School’s numbers already were low,” Lolli said. “Our point in leaving Meadowdale open is to recruit kids back there for a variety of educational program changes that we can hopefully make.”

Lolli also specified two under-enrolled elementary schools — Dayton Boys Prep and World of Wonder — where the school and parent communities are being encouraged to recruit students. Lolli’s plan would give them an “opportunity for one year to increase enrollment.” The plan suggests monitoring enrollment, and closing schools if needed.

“What we tried to do was to listen to the community, and they said don’t rush into anything,” said Lolli, who met with parents at the lowest-enrolled schools. “We still have to do something about bringing people back to DPS. And that can’t be just the school district doing it. That’s why I’m sending out a challenge to parent groups and community groups.”

School board President William Harris said that if the board needs more time to weigh Lolli’s recommendations, they could delay the vote past next week’s board meeting.

One wild card is a court hearing this afternoon in David Esrati’s lawsuit against the school district. Esrati has asked for a preliminary injunction preventing DPS from making any closure decisions, saying the task force process violated Ohio Open Meetings law. Judge Richard Skelton could rule on that issue today, but if a further hearing is required, he may ask the board to delay its decision.