The need to change Fremont's schedule disputed by some parents

By Teri Vance

Nevada Appeal Staff Writer

A longtime Fremont Elementary School parent said it may be more "sour grapes" than budget crisis that is driving the charge to change the school's schedule.

Paul Brugger's oldest of seven children began attending the district's only year-round school in the early '70s " when it was on the site that is now the State Education Department " and his youngest finished in the mid-'90s.

In that time, he said, there were several attempts to change the schedule.

"Cost savings has nothing to do with the district's desire to change the schedule," he said. "What we need to do is consider what the motive really is " it happened long before this budget crisis."

District officials have said switching schedules would save $23,000 a year. Compared to the $7.2 million deficit, Brugger said, that is meager.

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Fremont first opened as a "choice" school for parents who wanted a year-round schedule.

Brugger said affluent families sent their children there. The students achieved the highest test scores in the district, he said, and an active parent-teacher association raised money to build the area's first computer lab.

Resentment, he said, grew against the school in the community.

However, redistricting in 1999 changed the school's demographics, Brugger said. Rather than a choice school, Fremont was zoned for the children in the surrounding neighborhood.

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Last year, Fremont's population was made up of nearly 14 percent special-education students; 24 percent of students are learning English as a second language. Nearly 45 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Brugger, who now has a grandchild attending the school, said that although the demographics have changed, the school's spirit has not.

"We still have a phenomenal PTA and there are about 100 variances for kids to come to this school who aren't zoned for it," he said.

Likewise, he asserted, the resentment has also stayed the same.

"I'd like to think it's not jealousy or just plain sour grapes, but I have to wonder if it is," he said. "This is something they've wanted to do for a long time, and they're using the budget as an excuse to do it."

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Richard Stokes, superintendent of the Carson City School District, agreed the decision isn't completely financial, but disagreed on the motive.

He said the district would operate more smoothly if all schools were on the same schedule, pointing to instances when Fremont teachers haven't been able to attend training sessions because of scheduling conflicts.

"The teachers there aren't exposed to the same level of interactivity and training," he said.

It can also affect the students.

"Some students don't enroll in Fremont until after the traditional school starts," he said. "They are weeks behind and do not have full access to the curriculum."

He said he also anticipated cost savings over time with greater efficiency in the district.

As for a grudge, Stokes, who moved to the district in 2001 as associate superintendent and took over this year as superintendent, said he wasn't even aware of that sentiment.

"That would have all been before my time here," he said. "I had never even heard of any of that until now. I certainly would not have considered that when I was looking at making a decision " a decision that would affect people's lives and families."

The school board will be asked to vote on the schedule change at Tuesday's meeting.

Trustee Joe Enge said last year's survey of parents and teachers that showed more than 80 percent in favor of the year-round calendar will drive his vote against the change.

"The recent revenue shortfalls would be a valid reason to change the schedule if it was shown to be costly for the district to maintain," he said. "Given the district cannot show any cost savings of significance, I feel the board remains bound by the commitment made to Fremont's staff and parents after the survey results were presented."

- Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.

WHAT: Carson City School Board meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.