With one meeting left, Lawrence district consolidation group split
Time is running out for members of the consolidation working group and it appears their next step forward will actually be to take a step back.
On Monday night members abandoned their charge and split into two groups. Next week, parents from Cordley, Hillcrest and New York Elementary will present a proposal that closes no schools and instead uses a bond issue to make improvements.
“Closing a couple schools isn't going to go very far to address that need,” said Cordley representative Chuck Epp. “It amounts to about $600,000 total which gets some things, but not even close to what is needed."
Meanwhile parents from Sunset Hill, Pinckney and Kennedy will propose a plan arguing why consolidation is necessary, but they won't name specific schools. "You have to make sacrifices to make the money show up somewhere else,” said Kennedy parent Dawn Shew. “There is no fairy in this scenario. Something has to give."
The two subgroups will meet this weekend. The group opposing consolidation will meet at 1 p.m. on February 18 in the New York Elementary School library. The other group will meet that night at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Building.