BY SAM SPOKONY | New York University has come out in opposition to the Department of Education’s proposal to split the zone currently shared by Greenwich Village’s two public elementary schools, P.S. 3 and P.S. 41.
If the shared zone were to be split, parents who live in the schools’ current catchment area would no longer be able to choose where to send their children, and enrollment would be based on two distinct zones. D.O.E. has said that it believes the plan would reduce severe overcrowding and administrative problems that are now facing both schools.
According to a Dec. 17 letter sent to D.O.E. Deputy Chancellor Mark Sternberg, the university said it is against the plan because the element of choice between the two schools has played “a pivotal role” for the families of N.Y.U. faculty members as they plan for their children’s early education.
This is the first time the university has taken an official stance on the issue, and it comes late in the game. The District 2 Community Education Council is currently scheduled to vote on the proposal on Jan. 23, and its decision will be binding.
N.Y.U. also sent a copy of its letter to Shino Tanikawa, president of the District 2 C.E.C.
The letter, which was written by N.Y.U. Senior Vice President Lynne Brown, also claimed that splitting the shared zone would create an unwanted division within the university’s overall community. In addition, it suggested that a split zone could negatively impact the university’s ability to attract new faculty members who would want the option to choose which school their child could attend.
“The university believes that the removal of such an option could have a detrimental impact on the attractiveness of Greenwich Village as a place of strong, progressive public education opportunities,” the letter stated.
That plan to split the zone shared between P.S. 3 (located on Hudson St., near Grove St.) and P.S. 41 (located on W. 11th St., between Sixth and Seventh Aves.) comes on the heels of two rezoning proposals by D.O.E. that were made to accommodate two new public elementary schools in District 2 — one in Midtown East, which will open in 2013, and another in Chelsea, the so-called Foundling School, which will open in 2014.
Both rezoning proposals were approved by the District 2 C.E.C. on Dec. 6. The rezoning associated with the Foundling School, which goes into effect in 2014, will cut several blocks from the current northern boundary of the P.S. 3 and P.S. 41 shared zone.
Many local parents and teachers are divided over whether the proposed zone split — which would also take effect in 2014 — will actually ease overcrowding and administrative burdens, or whether the lack of choice will end up being more than it’s worth. The District 2 C.E.C.’s Dec. 19 public hearing — which took place at press time — gave parents and teachers a final chance to air their opinions before the Jan. 23 vote.
The vote on the zone split has already been postponed twice due to the intensity of the debate. It was first scheduled for Dec. 6, and then Dec. 19, before being pushed back again.
At its Dec. 18 meeting, the Community Board 2 Social Services and Education Committee considered drafting a resolution either in favor of or against the proposal, but decided against it.
All of the committee’s members agreed that they would rather stay neutral than support one side of a divisive issue, since they believed a resolution would only lead to heated and emotional disputes at C.B. 2’s Dec. 20 full board meeting.
