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The Old Mission Community Connection Group (OMCCG), formerly the Focus Group, needs everyone to attend the TCAPS school board meeting on Monday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. in the Ida Tompkins Building at 412 Webster Street, Traverse City.
At the meeting, Superintendent Paul Soma will present his recommendations to the school board on the three low enrollment schools, of which our beloved Old Mission Peninsula School is one. The OMCCG has been working hard on ideas for alternative scenarios (see below), not only to save our school and the community center that it is, but also to help the school district in general.
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OMCCG IDEAS FOR ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS:
- Adjust McKinley Rd. district line and have Eastern Elementary be a walking only school.
- Pursue a .6MIL for Peninsula Twp. Summer 2016, with the stipulation that upon passing; TCAPS amends the OMPS property deed with “Should OMPS be closed, the land will be sold to the township, the library or Land Conservancy for $1” OR “This land may solely be used for educational and/or land conservancy purposes.”
- Renovate Central Grade School with priority. TODAY surrounding schools have room to absorb 649 students. Central neighborhood and businesses will get behind you to make this happen.
- Connected with above, relocate TAG to OMPS through Central Renovation.
- Relocate IB to centrally located Traverse Heights.
- Close Eastern through Central Grade School renovation. Students go to bordering remodeled TH IB, or remodeled OM (TAG).
- Rebuild Interlochen K-8, partnering with Interlochen Public Library & incorporating Blair. INCREASE district-wide head-count via Benzie, Buckley & Kingsley with Star Wars-like marketing – a showcase school!
- Relocate TCAPS Admin. Offices to vacant TCAPS building.
- Relocate 6th ( 6th – 8th?) back to elementary schools, have one middle school (West), move TCAPS Admin. To empty East Middle School building.
- Omit elementary world language program, $400K/year savings.
- Implement temporary attrition / hiring freeze strategy for non-teacher positions. Currently 34 non-teacher positions posted; hours*pay, not including benefits = $230K+.
- Engage & support district-wide PTO fundraising campaign; each year different initiative, i.e. curriculum.
- Independent Barney Charter School – Traverse Classical Academy at OMPS (retains property values, provides community school, could attract home schoolers, saves $400K/year from TCAPS budget, removes approximately $1M+ of TCAPS funding based on 171 current head count.)
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So, in order for Old Mission Peninsula School to be saved, you want to make children who attend Eastern to walk? That seems safe. And on top of that, moving the TAG program over to your school will lower the enrollment because no parent is willing to drive all the way out on the Peninsula and then into town to go to work. It’s ridiculous. Moving programs to the school will not help. The location is what is hurting you. Families are moving off the Peninsula, or they have grown up, or the reason for a downfall in enrollment at OMPS is because there are no vacancies on the Peninsula; moreover there is no high demand for a school out there anymore. And it’s easier to inconvenience the few on the Peninsula than to inconvenience 3 other elementary schools. And I also found the bullet about closing down East Middle School quite comical. It’s like you folks have no idea how long it will take families all the way out in East Bay Township to get to West Middle school by 8 a.m. These poor kids would have to be up by 5 a.m. just to be on a bus. By doing that, TCAPS will take a hit and families will enroll their children at Woodland and they know this. You’ve got too much going against you.
Thank you Jane. I hope everyone attends!!
[…] TCAPS Board will present their final decision at the March 7, 2016 board meeting. Click here to read alternative scenarios recommended by the Old Mission focus […]