Residents sound off on school setup

The Charlottesville public schools should either leave their grade configuration alone or have one middle school and make the fifth grade part of elementary school, parents and other community members agreed Tuesday.

Residents voiced their opinion on reconfiguring Charlottesville’s schools during a community-wide meeting hosted by the division. The meeting was held so participants could list their two preferred choices for how the system should be reconfigured, if at all.

“I’m not advocating for change,” said city resident Virginia Thompson, but she added that she thought change was coming regardless.

“That’s the sense I get,” she said.

The city schools have been entertaining the idea of changing their setup after an efficiency study suggested that an elementary school be closed so the division could be more efficient in its use of buildings.

Charlottesville has six elementary schools, one upper elementary school, one middle school and one high school.

The four proposed options are leaving the division as is; eliminating one elementary school; having six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school; or having six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.

Superintendent Rosa S. Atkins said Tuesday that more than 50 percent of the efficiency study’s recommendations have been implemented — which was required for the division to get state funding for the study — so the reconfiguration discussion was not being driven by the report. She said within her first few months in Charlottesville, she received several e-mails, letters and phone calls telling her to examine the city’s grade configuration.

“It was not something I wanted to touch with a 10-foot pole, back then,” she said.

Since the spring, administrators and School Board members have held numerous meetings about the possible changes.

Many of those who participated Tuesday generally agreed that closing an elementary school was not desirable, which largely focused the discussion on whether there should be one or two middle schools in addition to six elementary schools and Charlottesville High School.

Those ideas also spurred questions — including how the city would need to be redistricted, how the division would avoid racial and economic inequalities between two middle schools, whether 800 students in one middle school was too many and whether fifth grade specifically might see negative consequences by being part of elementary school.

“I think a lot of us are really happy with how fifth grade is currently working,” resident Louis Nelson said. “It’s just an excellent education.”

On redistricting and racial inequalities in middle school, which was behind the division’s past decision to get rid of two schools and instead have Walker Upper Elementary and Buford Middle schools, city resident Jim Baker said, “Any new solution … is going to have to solve that problem.”

Others wondered why any changes needed to be made at all.

“This structure is an equitable one and it seems to be working,” parent Lisa Woolfork said.

School Board Chairman Ned Michie said in an interview that the board would receive a report on Nov. 5 outlining the administration’s recommendation for narrowing the options. After that, he said, more meetings would be held before the board makes a final decision.

An exact date for that vote has not been scheduled, though administrators said it would likely take place in January.