Posted 1:34 am Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tyler ISD Still Wants 2010 Griffin Opening
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said he hopes the district can still open the new Griffin Elementary along with its other new elementary schools in August 2010, despite a delay in choosing a site for that school.
TISD officials met with the community in February to discuss the school district's plan for the location of Griffin, but were met with resistance to their proposal.
The proposal was to swap land with the city to allow TISD to build the new Griffin Elementary on a portion of Woldert Park, a city park across the street from the school.
Under the proposal, once the new Griffin was built and the old was torn down, a park would be created where the old school was -- with upgraded amenities that TISD would pay for.
While community members supported the new school, no one spoke in favor of the "land swap" proposal at that meeting. Community members voiced concerns about traffic congestion, impact on the history of the park and the type of activity a public park could bring into their neighborhood.
Reid said in an interview March 6, the Friday before the district left for spring break, that officials had done "a lot of work since that meeting."
"We're still pursuing multiple options right now," he said, noting they have about four to five options for locations they are weighing. "We still have some hope, I think, of being able to get this building open in August of 2010. But the longer it takes us to get this process done, the more challenging that's going to be. We're trying to get it done as quickly as possible."
He said he hopes to narrow it down by the end of March.
The four-to-five options the district is eyeing "are not significant distances" from the neighborhood the school is in, but "it would change how the school interacts with the neighborhood somewhat," Reid said.
The original proposal, or some version of it, has not been ruled out, he said.
"It was very apparent to me that the people who lived around the current school would not be supportive of the current school site becoming a park," Reid said. "That piece of it we know would not fly. Whether we could come up with a plan that would put the school on the existing park land and do something else for that community, is another story ΓΆΒ?Β»"
The district is "cautiously looking" into all of its options in that area, he said.
The superintendent said that since the February meeting, the district has talked with some of the people at the meeting to get more information about their concerns. He said they are "most definitely" taking into consideration what was said at the meeting.
"There was certainly a feeling in that meeting that the city and the school district had done too much work without any engagement in the community," he said. "We had engaged some members of the community, but we hadn't broadened that enough. We won't do that again. We won't do it without making sure the community is brought along -- not only on this project but other projects as well."
Voters approved the replacement of six Tyler ISD schools in a $124.9 million November bond issue, including Griffin.
He said bulldozers and tractors are on the ground and moving at some of the other school sites.
"It's fun to watch that start, but it also tells me we're getting a little bit further behind on this particular project," Reid said.
The district has said it plans to open all the schools by August 2010.
Reid said that while he is hopeful that can still happen, "my optimism on that is beginning to fade."
"We could still possibly do that if we make that decision by the end of this month and move forward," he said. "But one of the ways you do that is you have to accelerate the pace of construction ΓΆΒ?Β»"
Reid added, "We won't sacrifice quality to be on time, nor will we bust the budget to be on time. But we'll look at all of our options and try to set a schedule that we think is doable. And there is still hope that we can do that."
Staff Writer
Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said he hopes the district can still open the new Griffin Elementary along with its other new elementary schools in August 2010, despite a delay in choosing a site for that school.
TISD officials met with the community in February to discuss the school district's plan for the location of Griffin, but were met with resistance to their proposal.
The proposal was to swap land with the city to allow TISD to build the new Griffin Elementary on a portion of Woldert Park, a city park across the street from the school.
Under the proposal, once the new Griffin was built and the old was torn down, a park would be created where the old school was -- with upgraded amenities that TISD would pay for.
While community members supported the new school, no one spoke in favor of the "land swap" proposal at that meeting. Community members voiced concerns about traffic congestion, impact on the history of the park and the type of activity a public park could bring into their neighborhood.
Reid said in an interview March 6, the Friday before the district left for spring break, that officials had done "a lot of work since that meeting."
"We're still pursuing multiple options right now," he said, noting they have about four to five options for locations they are weighing. "We still have some hope, I think, of being able to get this building open in August of 2010. But the longer it takes us to get this process done, the more challenging that's going to be. We're trying to get it done as quickly as possible."
He said he hopes to narrow it down by the end of March.
The four-to-five options the district is eyeing "are not significant distances" from the neighborhood the school is in, but "it would change how the school interacts with the neighborhood somewhat," Reid said.
The original proposal, or some version of it, has not been ruled out, he said.
"It was very apparent to me that the people who lived around the current school would not be supportive of the current school site becoming a park," Reid said. "That piece of it we know would not fly. Whether we could come up with a plan that would put the school on the existing park land and do something else for that community, is another story ΓΆΒ?Β»"
The district is "cautiously looking" into all of its options in that area, he said.
The superintendent said that since the February meeting, the district has talked with some of the people at the meeting to get more information about their concerns. He said they are "most definitely" taking into consideration what was said at the meeting.
"There was certainly a feeling in that meeting that the city and the school district had done too much work without any engagement in the community," he said. "We had engaged some members of the community, but we hadn't broadened that enough. We won't do that again. We won't do it without making sure the community is brought along -- not only on this project but other projects as well."
Voters approved the replacement of six Tyler ISD schools in a $124.9 million November bond issue, including Griffin.
He said bulldozers and tractors are on the ground and moving at some of the other school sites.
"It's fun to watch that start, but it also tells me we're getting a little bit further behind on this particular project," Reid said.
The district has said it plans to open all the schools by August 2010.
Reid said that while he is hopeful that can still happen, "my optimism on that is beginning to fade."
"We could still possibly do that if we make that decision by the end of this month and move forward," he said. "But one of the ways you do that is you have to accelerate the pace of construction ΓΆΒ?Β»"
Reid added, "We won't sacrifice quality to be on time, nor will we bust the budget to be on time. But we'll look at all of our options and try to set a schedule that we think is doable. And there is still hope that we can do that."
