NORFOLK, Va. — Some Norfolk School Board members are concerned about portions of a plan to address problems with facilities in the division.
A proposal would transfer the secondary alternative education program from the Madison School to Lindenwood Elementary. According to the plan, Madison would close, and students currently attending Lindenwood would be divided among other schools, including Willard Model Elementary and W. H. Taylor Elementary schools.
A public hearing is scheduled for March 2, and the school board plans to vote on March 16.
It’s part of the division’s ongoing discussions spanning years to improve school buildings across the division. The board has known for a while that something needs to be done with schools, like Lindenwood and Madison.
Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) partnered with a consulting firm to examine each school’s building utilization and current and projected enrollment, and developed a master plan first released in July 2021, which was the focus of public hearings last Spring.
However, school board members Rodney Jordan and Tanya Bhasin said the proposals involving Madison and Lindenwood were introduced earlier this month during the board’s Feb. 4 retreat. The original plan featured transferring students from Madison to the Academy at Rosemont, but that received pushback.
They question if the March 2 timeline for a public hearing provides parents and community members adequate time to become knowledgeable of the plan and to share feedback.
“I think that’s a significant change, and I don’t think we’ve given an ample amount of time to get engaged,” said Bhasin on Wednesday. “I think it is unrealistic to have a public hearing one week and then a vote two weeks later.”
Bhasin also shared concerns about equity.
“We’ve talked about that but not in the overarching goal to deconcentrate poverty,” said Bhasin. “What does it mean to put Madison students from a poor facility school to another poor facility school? When I am asked to make decisions, have we provided a chance for equity? Are we considering all of our students?”
“We are proposing to repeat the same things we did that got us into this situation to begin with,” said Jordan during the Feb. 4 school board retreat, referring to the division’s pledge to pursue equity in education.
Jordan mentioned Lindenwood, Madison and Ruffner Academy, which also undergo changes, as “overwhelmingly African American,” and said the division must avoid a problematic cycle.
“Neglect, deteriorate and then say, we care and take actions without considering what the data tells us,” he said. “I think it is too soon to have a hearing on March 2 and the vote will take place on March 16."
During that meeting, Norfolk Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sharon Byrdsong communicated that time is of the essence. If the projects are going to happen, the division needs to know by March, she said.
“These things cannot happen overnight,” she said during the meeting. “This is a lot to get these things accomplished on top of our main thing. We need to know in March, because if we don’t know at that point it is going to be virtually impossible to move forward.”
School Board Vice-Chair Carlos Clanton told 13News Now the school division cannot afford to wait much longer because of the potential impact on other plans.
“This has been before the community for a while,” said Clanton. “We just haven’t taken any action on it. We can’t keep waiting.”
The master facilities plan also includes moving students in Easton Preschool to Fairlawn Elementary School.
The proposal would also make Ruffner Academy, which currently serves 6th to 8th-grade students, into a school for 3rd to 8th graders, and would move students from Tidewater Park Elementary to Ruffner by the fall of 2023.
Clanton said the division should want to give Ruffner’s administration at least a year to prepare for the changes.
“Then we have enough time to market it, put it out there that this is what’s happening before that takes place in September of 2023,” said Clanton.
He also believes the current proposal benefits students at Madison and Lindenwood. He said Lindenwood struggles to retain teachers and relocating students to other schools would provide more consistency in the classroom, and he said the timing allows the students to acclimate to a new environment.
“Every time that we wait and delay to take action, we are doing a disservice to our teachers and students in our buildings and giving them the right opportunity,” said Clanton. “If you are saying ‘no’ to the plan, what’s the viable option? What’s the alternative?”
Lindenwood has the division's highest percentage of low and reduced lunch, according to Clanton, which is an indicator of the area's poverty level. Clanton believes the plan breaks that up by moving students to Taylor and Willard.
Bhasin said the changes to Lindenwood would impact at least 5 communities, including Madison and the other school neighborhoods that would need to be rezoned. She recommends Norfolk Public Schools do more to reach out to school communities and to make sure they are aware of this potential decision.
“I would like to continue this discussion, but not to be pushed into making a decision within four weeks,” she said.
In that Feb. 4 meeting, Dr. Byrdsong said the administration would look into more ways to engage families.