Unanswered questions in school merger

Is Richmond Elementary School in St. Charles a failing school? The district says no. Wrong answer.

Richmond has failed to meet the state requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act for at least the last three years. The school currently offers parents the option to attend other elementary schools in the district because of that.

Why is Davis Elementary, the neighboring school, overcrowded? Because at least 130 students took the option to go to another school and they chose Davis.

The proposal is to merge the two schools for next year and have Pre K through second grade at Davis Primary (Davis) and grades 3 through 5 at Davis Intermediate (Richmond).

I find that Superintendent Schlomann is using used car sales tactics to sell the community a lemon. He is showing the parents shiny new iPads, dangling foreign language study, science instruction and an extra 40 minutes per day for the students without providing any facts. Facts like:

Ÿ Where is the money coming from? The teachers union just accepted a pay freeze for two years without knowing about this proposal.

Ÿ What is the curriculum? The superintendent doesn’t know, it hasn’t been looked at.

Ÿ If Richmond isn’t a failing school, then why the Davis/Richmond combination? Dr. Schlomann says it’s an “opportunity.”

Ÿ Why next year? Schlomann indicates the money is only available for next year.

Ÿ How long has this been in the works? Dr. Schlomann says 18 months, but the parents just found out about it on Feb. 9. Also, it’s been about 18 months since the school referendum was denied.

There are a lot of questions with no answers. The board intends to vote on this proposal at the earliest on March 14. The new board members who are running uncontested are being seated on May 2. Timing is everything!

Sheryl Emralino

St. Charles