Elise Gold's Letter to the Editor 01/27/10: Proposed Plan Makes Sense

Applause to the New Paltz Board of Education, Maria Rice and her administration for proposing such a well thought-out plan to the New Paltz community for the renovation of our middle school. Praise for the ongoing information sharing of information via community forums, coffee houses, Board of Ed meetings, PTA meetings, newsletters and blog on the district's website. I honor their process, as well as the product that is being proposed.

So many valuable points have been expressed on these pages. At this time, I'd like to respond to an option proposed that has to do with preserving the existing building in its entirety and making it more energy efficient. The thought was to increase efficiency by upgrading the windows and adding solar panels, etc. While this may seem like a reasonable option, I have walked in the footsteps that my son walks each day when going from one class to another.

As parents, we walk the middle school maze on open house night when visiting the teachers in their respective classrooms. For instance, in order to go from French class (in the 1966 addition) to social studies (in the original 1930 wing), a student needs to walk down a hall, down the ramp, down another hall, up a flight of stairs, down another hall, down another hall then up two flights of stairs in order to finally get to his/her destination. This journey needs to occur in four minutes. The band room is surrounded on all sides by academic classrooms making it hard for students to concentrate while hearing rhythms and music pouring through the band room walls. The cafeteria cannot accommodate the student body sufficiently, which cuts down on the students' meal time. The lunch period is scheduled for 40 minutes, yet each lunch period is divided in two 20-minute sessions -- while half of the group is having lunch in the cramped quarters, the other half is at recess. This makes for rushed eating, which is not conducive to a healthy learning environment. Part of the space is used for the district-wide food preparation area. These are just a few reasons why simply turning the existing building into a greener model doesn't make sense.

The proposed plan has academic classrooms for each grade level "housed" together. Students travel from room to room seamlessly. A multipurpose room is part of each grade level central to their academic rooms. The houses are designed to be away from the band room and other special classes. The design is barrier free, allowing all students the right and ability to get from class to class. With the proposed design, the cafeteria would not serve the same role it does now. It would only have serving capacity and not be preparing food for the entire district. This would allow for more dining space. Given the larger capacity, schedule changes could accommodate longer lunches.

Please join me in voting yes on Feb. 9 for the renovations that the Board of Education has proposed on the middle school.

Elise Gold
Gardiner