D112's 'Gem' Middle School Will Be Riddled With Problems: Letter

The following letter was written and submitted by Rebecca Schechter.

I am a Highland Park resident, taxpayer, physician and educator, but I am writing this letter because of my most important job, a mother.

We need to do what is best for our children and our community. Therefore, I oppose the D112 referendum.

I am not against spending or change. I will pay for a plan that benefits our community, but the current D112 plan does not.

D112 paints a picture that the Big Box Middle School will be the “gem of the North Shore.” But let’s cut through the fancy PR rhetoric and imagine the experience our children will have.

Our children will endure long bus rides traversing from one side of town to the other. Proponents of the plan say that busing and traffic are “adult problems.” But this suggests that our children’s time and health have no value. Their time has value and their social well-being is priceless! Long bus rides lead to bullying, decreased sleep, decreased school performance, and decreased exercise. How is this good for our children?

D112 claims that the mega-school will offer greater extracurricular activities. Yet, the current plan has ONE soccer field and ONE baseball field for 1900+ students!

There aren’t enough after-school hours for everyone to play. And what about the school play? Not everyone who wants to participate will be able to do so. Our 5th graders will have a rude (and unnecessarily early) awakening when they move to a competitive middle school setting. How is this good for their social development?

And what will happen when the afternoon school bell rings? Our children will exit the school to find a sea of buses and cars. I rightly fear that some child will be hit or lost amidst all the chaos.

Finally, peer-reviewed literature has demonstrated that a mega-school will be detrimental to our children’s education. I for one am not willing to harm our kids’ educational future on the best guess of D112.

D112 will say all these problems can be “mitigated.” How? With more personnel-- crossing guards, traffic directors, bus chaperones? All the additional personnel will eat up any anticipated cost savings that the D112 is trying to sell. In the end, the touted savings – which is based on speculation - will not be realized. Our administrators will move on to other jobs, and our community will be left with this mess.

Please join me in voting “NO” for the D112 referendum. We need a sensible plan.