BY GARY FLISPART
newsroom@newsandtribune.com
LANCONIA — Parents and NAFC School District employees should access www.nafcs.k12.in.us and carefully read the NAFC Schools "Budget Reduction Plan."The administrators really learned from last year's ultimately failed battle over its closed-door planning process. This time they were ruthless. They held off details of the plan until three days before the public hearing, and will vote the whole list into effect three days after that. No transparency, no community cooperation, no discussion of alternatives or wisdom of sweeping changes in the plan. They even scheduled the vote for a night teeming with schedule conflicts for parents of Hazelwood and Silver Street kids.
They know the community will focus on "Recommendation 3"—close four popular elementary schools at once and send all fifth graders to middle school. Meanwhile the 17 "done deals" and the other 39 "recommendations" slip under the radar, perhaps unnoticed and unopposed by the general public. Please read them ASAP on the Web site — they eliminate many elementary programs, strip nonunion employees of important benefits, and change all employee health plans in serious ways. These affect students, the educational and societal missions of the schools, and employees' livelihoods.
I actually believe the Administration is trying to be financially responsible and it has presented a potentially workable plan. I personally hate abandoning Silver Street, but I concede the overall plan might work and could save teachers' jobs. I, however, think the closed process stinks, and parents deserve more time to absorb details.
I am concerned that Silver Street School, a historic landmark and the focus of a vital community, not be allowed to deteriorate as a haven for vandalism and rot. I think it is unlikely to be sold soon for a purpose consistent with its residential setting, and it should not be razed for other development. Therefore, I make a serious suggestion which could salvage the building and keep its character and community focus intact: move the current Administration Headquarters from Grant Line Road to Silver Street. It turns out the available square footage and acreage is very similar. The residential and community-centered character, and the historical landmark, would be preserved. The Board could readily sell the current Grant Line site for a much higher price in its highly commercial location.
This may be short notice for consideration, but if all of Floyd County can absorb a complete restructuring of facilities on three days' notice, so can the School Board.
