Green Party Proposes an Innovative Alternative to City School Closings

Education activists within the Green Party of Monroe County (GPoMC) opposed to the closing of Rochester City schools are proposing an innovative alternative that will keep schools open while reducing the School district's budget problems.

Green Party Proposes an Innovative Alternative to City School Closings

(Rochester)  Education activists within the Green Party of Monroe County (GPoMC) opposed to the closing of Rochester City schools are proposing an innovative alternative that will keep schools open while reducing the School district's budget problems.   Starting with the first public hearing on school closings, (February 3rd, 6pm at Frederick Douglass Prepatory School) GPoMC will present its proposal to the community as well as district representatives.  The proposal is called, School-Community Partnership: Building Beyond the Bricks & Mortar and can be read in its entirety at http://www.gpomc.org/pdf/2005/school_community_partnership.pdf.

The proposal, initiated by former Green Party City School Board Candidate and educator, Dave Atias, calls for using the underutilized schools in ways that will help surrounding neighborhoods.  "The district and the School and Community Advisory Committee are looking at this as a crisis that needs to be dealt with.  We are looking at this as an opportunity to improve not only our children's education but the community as a whole."

School-Community Partnership: Building Beyond the Bricks & Mortar, calls for a number of changes.  The most innovative one is the suggestion that private enterprises share unused space in schools, creating multi-use facilities.  The entities that move in would be separate from the schools and pay rent. 

"What this would do," according to Jason Nabewaniec, Co-Chair of the local Greens, "is give the district an additional source of revenue, and the surrounding community can have input into which organizations or businesses would help that particular neighborhood."  Nabewaniec lists possible entities such as neighborhood associations, day care centers, tutorial providers, health care centers, and employment services.

The Green Party will be presenting this innovative alternative at all three public hearings as well as other community meetings.  Green Party Vice Chair, Deborah Magone-Fragale explains, "We will be encouraging all organizations, parents, educators and students who believe we should be focusing on quality over quantity in education, to contact Superintendent Rivera and members of the School Board to tell them that there are alternatives to closing schools and that they should listen to this one."

"Let's be honest here," says Nabewaniec,  "there is a strong chance that
schools located in the poorest neighborhoods will be closed. These are the schools where the parents and faculty are the least organized and will put up the least resistance.  What kind of message will that send to the children who live in these neighborhoods? The neighborhoods where schools are needed the most are going to be the ones closed down."

Atias adds, "It's really going to get ugly once 'performance' is factored into which schools get closed.  Performance is just test scores on invalid, inappropriate exams.  We thought these tests were 'high-stakes' before, now they are one of the most important factors in deciding which schools are left open and which schools will be closed forever.  It's a shame. We can't be afraid to have high aspirations of our community and ourselves. Yes, it will take an enormous amount of courage to support new, innovative ideas but that is exactly what we must do!  Our community deserves nothing less."