Community worried about junior high placement
About 10 people from the East Parkview Subdivision were at the Monroe City School Board meeting to express concern about development plans for a new junior high school and transportation hub for the school board.
On July 23, the board voted to hire an architect to design a new junior high school to replace Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. The motion carried on a unanimous vote. At that meeting, the board expressed intent to turn the MLK Middle School property into the district’s transportation hub.
Board Vice President Brenda Shelling said she found out a group from the subdivision recently met to discuss the board’s decision. She said they were worried the move from school to bus barn would lower property values on adjacent properties and the noise from early buses would affect the neighborhood.
Shelling said she spoke with Board President Rodney McFarland, who represents the district affected, and they agreed to reconsider the move.
Board member Vickie Dayton said the board always has to look at the big picture and how it will affect the communities they serve.
The board voted to hire M3A Architecture PLLC architect William McElroy to design the new school and to design the new Barkdull Faulk Elementary walkway enclosure.
Shelling asked that the design be brought in line with the original design of the school, noting the board is trying to get the building added to the National Historic Registry.
The board passed policy JR, which brings the district into alignment with laws passed during the last legislative session that made sharing student information punishable by criminal penalties or fines and affected schools’ abilities to share honor rolls, class lists, sports rosters, etc. The policy will allow the schools to release personally identifiable student information after the practice was forbidden by the state Legislature in 2014.
“Every school in the state is grappling with this,” said Superintendent Brent Vidrine. “We do expect more changes to come with it.”
Vidrine noted the attorney general’s offices and other sources will be offering clarification in the future.
Follow Bonnie Bolden on Twitter @bbolden.