THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506070185
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
As a parent of a child at Great Bridge Primary School and another one entering kindergarten in the fall, I am very alarmed with the recent decisions by our School Board and administration.
Portable classrooms will be moved alongside existing classrooms at Great Bridge Primary, and these portables will be placed near the children's playground, causing less space for the children to play next year, not to mention other hazards that they could pose. This will cause more second-graders to be housed in portable units next year, having to deal with the weather and the inconvenience of not being a part of the school proper.
Two kindergarten classrooms and the first-grade classrooms will be taken from approximately 125 students who will be forced outside into smaller classrooms. These classrooms are intended for pre-school, handicapped children and will have only six to eight children per classroom. This program has been housed at Southeastern Elementary School, only a few minutes from Great Bridge, where they have recently been provided with a new wing of classrooms built and designed for their special needs. Now I wonder what will become of these small rooms which are too small to hold a regular class. Will this become wasted space at Southeastern?
Why were these rooms built recently if there was going to be a change? Why are they coming to an already crowded school, when a new one is planned to open on Cedar Road in the fall of 1996? It seems strange that the largest rooms will be given to the smallest students in size and number.
There is talk of building new kindergarten rooms at Great Bridge Primary; however, they will only be smaller than the existing kindergarten classrooms. One pre-school teacher remarked that they didn't even need that much space. They also preferred to stay at Southeastern.
I am not against the pre-school program. I am against it coming to Great Bridge Primary next year, before more planning has taken place and before the new school opens next year. Great Bridge Primary barely has enough space to house needed staff areas, speech, counseling, learning disabled and resource classes now. Why isn't there more long-range planning before these decisions are made?
I understand that a School Board member, James J. Wheaton, has a child that he wants at Great Bridge and that he has actively supported this decision to move for some time! Could this be from a selfish motive for his child, when there are so many other children who will be negatively affected by this?
This is a federally mandated program; however, it is not mandated that a child attend a school in his district. Why can't our overcrowded school house the students who are regularly enrolled for next year and plans be made to accommodate the pre-school program in the future, when there will be more space available and more planning behind costly construction and remodeling?
Susan Jones
Cheshire Forest Bridge blockade
The Dominion Boulevard bridge has a tendency to open at inopportune times for waterway traffic: rush hour both in the morning and the evening. I'm sure I'm not alone in the frustration of sitting in traffic to and from work while some pleasure craft from out of state is on its way to or from Florida. This is in addition to the usual commercial water traffic.
I've addressed this issue with the city manager and have received responses advising that it was being looked into. My first letter was sent in the fall of 1994, and I have yet to see any relief.
If someone doesn't get on the ball, we will endure these waits forever. Bridge openings need to be adjusted away from 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. There is no reason to back up traffic for miles in both directions for one out-of-state pleasure boat.
A.E. Brockinton
East Lake Circle by CNB