It has been a rough ride and not all problems are solved, but parents below Canal St. at least have secured a kindergarten spot next year relatively close to home. Spaces for six extra classes were found because of the leadership of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who brought parents and school officials together to find a solution. But in the Village, 87 kindergarten children are still stranded without space. Where these 4- and 5-year-olds will end up is anyone’s guess.
A Department of Education spokesperson sounded hopeful if not prayerful that the problem would get smaller on its own. He suggested parents could still be considering private schools, and that some would choose Gifted and Talented programs. That’s a pretty big “if” — and it’s simply unacceptable.
We support mayoral control of the schools, though with meaningful parental input. We think, over all, the mayor and schools chancellor have done a good job of raising performance, increasing accountability and improving school safety. Yet, if the city can’t guarantee seats for its students, we can’t deem the mayor’s efforts a success. Far from it.
The problem has the potential to affect other areas including Lower Manhattan, which had a more acute overcrowding problem until the temporary class space was found. Downtown also now has two K-8s that are under construction, one of which could open next year in Battery Park City, P.S./I.S. 276. We were pleased to hear from the D.O.E. this week that if they have to move Village students into the B.P.C. building next year, they would not do so unless they had a secured location elsewhere for 2011. But that does not help the stranded students this September.
Community Board 2 and local parents have long made it clear that finding new school space is one of the district’s most pressing needs. Taxpaying New Yorkers deserve adequate school seats in their zoned school district — and if the space doesn’t exist, then immediate contingency plans must be created.
Maria Passannante Derr, a candidate for City Council in Council District 3, suggested space for kindergartners could be found in former school buildings now being used by nonprofit organizations. For example, The Caring Community on Washington Square North and the L.G.B.T. Community Center on W. 13th St. are located in the former St. Joseph’s Academy and the former Maritime Trades High School, respectively. We want to hear more ideas, such as from, among others, Council Speaker Chris Quinn, who represents District 3, and Yetta Kurland, who is also running for the seat. Public-private partnerships — be they with local nonprofit groups or local universities — offer one solution.
There’s also a space in Soho at 30 Vandam St. where the new, private Greenwich Village High School was slated to open, though the opening has been delayed a year due to fundraising issues and the economy. Why can’t that space be a temporary answer to the district’s kindergarten needs?
N.Y.U.’s Morton Williams supermarket site at LaGuardia Place and Bleecker St. is a development site that could include a school; though almost no projects are getting built now due the economy, when things turn around, there’s no reason a public school shouldn’t be considered at this site.
The solutions might not be easy — but we must find some — and quickly for the sake of these displaced children and for other students who may have to sacrifice if a good solution is not found. September is just four months away.
