For nearly two hours Thursday night parents, teachers and community members listened to - and then questioned - the architects and engineers who are working on plans for the new Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy in Gainesville.
Gainesville School Board Chair Dr. Delores Diaz encouraged participants at the onset of the meeting at the Enota gym to "look forward and not look backward." The design process for the new school has been contentious, with some stakeholders saying they have been left out of the decision making. The community meeting Thursday was meant to ease some of the tension among the groups who have an interest in the 60-year-old school.
During the course of the evening, conversation focused on student safety, parking and preservation of the Smartville education garden, among other issues.
One topic that had not been addressed extensively at other meetings was the question of expansion for the elementary school.
Thursday night, the issue arose first with a question about the number of parking spaces proposed for the new school. All three draft plans for the new Enota include 185 parking spaces; technically, the required amount would be 120 based on the number of instructional units (IU) at the school.
"Are you planning all of this based on expansion, and if you are, are you spending more to make it ready for expansion than you would for a design strictly for this property, strictly for this site?" asked Kathy Amos, a concerned citizen who has appeared at past school board meetings to question the school board about the Enota plan. Amos pointed out the residential area, including many older homes, around Enota would be impacted by a larger student population.
Parent Scarlet Pendarvis echoed Amos' concerns.
"We've waited a long time for a new school. I'm happy that we're getting a new school, but we need a new school that fits [the area]," Pendarvis said.
Diaz said the school board would be remiss if it didn't consider the potential for school growth.
"We're a system of choice. Here at Enota, you have students coming from all over and you never know who's going to want to come to Enota," Diaz said. She pointed to growth at Centennial Arts Academy, where a two-story addition is currently under construction to accommodate growth.
"Who would have known 10 years ago that we would be in this position, but we are. It's not that we're hoping that we're going to grow and we're hoping we're going to have to add a wing to Enota, but...we have to consider all the possibilities," Diaz said.
The approximately 100 attendees spent about 30 minutes of the two-hour gathering working in small groups, where they came up with their top concerns/suggestions for the Enota plan.
Almost every list included the need for student safety on the Enota campus. Another top concern included more green space for the property - including the preservation of the educational garden that has been part of Enota for some eight years.
Diaz said the suggestions presented at the community meeting will be considered by the school board at its October 3 work session. Diaz said her intention is for the board to make a final decision on a site plan at that time, so that the project can move forward in a timely manner. Construction is set to begin at the end of the school year in May.
Diagrams and other information for the Enota site plan are available at the Gainesville City Schools website.
