Students lose out on summer services

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The closure of Jackson Elementary School has left several key services for indigent children scrambling for a new home.Roy Musitelli

June 14, 2007

By Paris Achen

Mail Tribune

MEDFORD — In past summers, Jackson Elementary pupils who come from among the poorest families in the Medford School District have been able to walk to the neighborhood school for free lunch and low-cost summer camp and to the public library to check out books.

Some of those activities may not be readily available this summer for Jackson students without transportation after the Medford School Board voted Monday to shutter Jackson and Roosevelt elementary schools because engineers found serious defects in the oldest portions of both buildings.

Officials are scrambling to find places for services that have been displaced by the closures, from a low-cost summer camp operated by the nonprofit Kids Unlimited to a reading program by the Jackson chapter of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

"My fear is what students are going to do this summer," said Girl Scout leader Kathy Greager, mother of two Jackson pupils. "This school is a community center; it's a lifeline for many kids."

The district closed Jackson and Roosevelt after an engineering study determined crumbling bricks on the exteriors and interiors and failing trusses made them unsafe.

District officials said they hope to either remodel or replace the schools in the next two years using part of $189 million in bond funds approved by voters in November. It is uncertain whether they will have enough money to do so, as costs on other bond projects have proven higher than anticipated.

"It's unfortunate, really unfortunate, that programs are being impacted by this, but the school is unsafe and we have to do what we need to do," said Board Vice Chairman Mike Moran. "We just have to find the best case and affordable solution."

District officials are expected to explore options this summer for construction at the two schools.

The fate of what is perhaps the most critical service — a free lunch program for indigent children funded by the federal government at both Jackson and Roosevelt — is still uncertain.

Medford School District officials are seeking advice from architects and engineers to determine whether the schools' cafeterias, located in newer parts of both campuses, would be safe to keep open for the summer meals programs.

"For some kids, that's the only meal they get," Greager said.

A plan to open Jackson's school library this summer to fill the gap caused by the shutdown of Jackson County's libraries has been scrapped.

The district will still operate school libraries over the summer at Jacksonville, Lone Pine, Oak Grove and Wilson elementary schools. Oak Grove and Wilson are nearest to Jackson.

But some Jackson pupils don't have anyone to transport them to those schools.

The Girl Scouts still hope to find another location to operate their summer reading program. Members had planned on checking out books in the Jackson cafeteria two days a week during the summer from a collection of 500 volumes donated by teachers and community members.

"I have 500 books sitting in my living room, and I don't know what to do with them," Greager said.

Other programs displaced by the Jackson closure include Kids Health Connection, a free medical clinic; Head Start, a free state and federally funded preschool program; and Kids Unlimited, an after-school program providing free and low-cost summer activities to low-income children.

Bridge, a weekly faith-based, after-school program run by New Song Church at Jackson, will have to find a new location.

Kids Unlimited Executive Director Tom Cole said Wednesday his summer camp program will be relocated to Oak Grove Elementary, but he worries that students won't have a way to get there.

"It's important we provide continuity in programs for the kids who we worked with in the after-school program," Cole said. "The summer camp provides childcare, enrichment activities, a safe place to go and supervision."

District officials and Kids Health Connection administrators are exploring ways the clinic might be able to serve the Jackson pupils dispersed between McLoughlin and a yet-to-be-determined location.

"That is a valuable, valuable service to students and families," said Rich Miles, district elementary education director. "We are going to do whatever we can to maintain that program."

District officials are still wondering where to house Head Start, which occupied two classrooms in Jackson. After they decide on where to send Jackson pupils, officials said they would evaluate whether there are any elementary classrooms on the west side that could be leased to the preschool program.

"The west side is the hardest area in Medford to find a facility because early childhood centers have a lot of regulations, and it's an area where there are not a lot of unused buildings in good shape," said Nancy Nordyke, director of Southern Oregon Head Start.

The school closure "was not the best timing for us, but it'll be great in two years," said Jackson Principal Tom Ettel. "Hopefully, we'll have better facilities for our (service) partners. It's just going to be a long swim underwater before we break out of the water."

Reach reporter Paris Achen at 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.

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