Pontiac schools forum is Saturday

Thursday, December 4, 2008 4:03 PM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press

PONTIAC – The latest in the recommendations for restructuring the Pontiac school district will be presented at the third in a series of public forums Saturday.

Acting Superintendent Linda Paramore and board trustees say they want as much input on the redesign of the district as possible.The goal is to downsize the district, improve instructional programs and prevent a $10 million deficit.

Some of the recommendations considered now include the merging of Pontiac Central and Northern high schools and the closing of as many as half the school buildings.In the fall, the district could be made up of a single high school with several K-8 elementaries and no middle schools.

Another option is a privately run high school with K-6 elementaries, if some of the other recommendations are approved by the board. Nothing is final yet.

The community-school district Committee to Redesign Pontiac Schools for Instructional Effectiveness and Financial Efficiency will make its final recommendations to the Board of Education only after including input from Saturday’s forum and the final public forum Jan. 13.

The board will vote the recommendations up or down in February. It is important that residents of the school district be at the two forums to hear recommendations, contribute their suggestions and ask questions, “because it is going to be a possible change in our city,” said school board President Damon Dorkins.

“Taxpayers need to inform elected officials about how they want to see the school district run,” he said. “These committees came up with a number of recommendations and we have to vote on the best of the recommendations. “They need to be there to hear it,” Dorkins added.

The Committee to Redesign Pontiac Schools encompasses two subcommittees, one focusing on instructional concepts and the other on facilities and finance.

Acting Superintendent Linda Paramore presented the options to an audience of about 200 residents, educators, school officials, students and parents at the second forum Nov. 18 at Pontiac Central High School.

“At this point in the history of this district, we are honestly and sincerely addressing the needs of the community and the needs of our students,” Paramore said. “We owe it to our students to keep the best educational environment.

If we keep 20 buildings open, we will never be able to afford the programs students deserve,” including fine arts, she told the audience. “We have a strong committee design concept and we want input from the community and we are letting the community know what we are dealing with (at the forums),” said Trustee Karen Cain, who is chairwoman of the instructional subcommittee.

FYIA forum on the restructuring of Pontiac school district is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Whitmer Human Resource Center, in the city-school complex on Auburn Road at Woodward northbound.Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.