On Tuesday, two members of the Norfolk City Council expressed disappointment at the Norfolk School Council for a permanent job to create a plan to close and consolidate the city schools.
The School Council postponed the closing plan for the second time on Monday and expired within the time limit set by the Council to adopt a plan to close at least 10 schools.
Two council members urged the school board to take decisive actions soon and did not rule out dictating how the school system could use the city funding during the next budget cycle.
“It’s not from the table,” said Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander. “It’s on the table.”
At the meeting of the Special School Board on Monday, members created a new project plan based on David Sturtz, a Woolpert consultant hired to oversee the closing process, and Richard Fraley, a school district chief operations officer. Sturtz and Fraley created their plan after the school district premises and the planning committee meeting on 24 September. A call meeting. This meeting was not advertised to the public.
Initially, the Council set out on August 1. The term of the plan. James Pohlas, chairwoman of the Norfolk School Board, and the Provisional Superintendent James Pohlas previously asked the city to extend until 19 September.
During Monday’s meeting, Dicaloger proposed members to vote on New October 15th. A project to give public time to respond to the proposal.
City Council member Carlos Clanton, who is also a former member and chairman of the school board, recognized the delay in the school board and considered whether the body would continue to “kick a tin”. He encouraged the members to make a decision to make a decision and to acknowledge that it might not be everyone liked.
“You want considerations, and that’s great, but you have to make a decision,” Clanton said.
Clanton said the school board should show that the City Council could provide them with the level of confidence needed to continue the existing funding structure.
The joint meeting of the School Board and the City Council is scheduled for 7 October. Alexander said he would recommend postponing this meeting if the school council had not voted by then due to the closure plan.
Alexander said he opposed the previous plan of the board members, Tanya Bhasin and Jason Iege, saying he would like a plan created by Woolpert, an engineering consultant. He did not comment on the new plan.
In response to email By e -mail, the DiCaloger said that the School Council was zealously trying to follow the guidelines of the City Council and intended to share the current plan with the body on October 7. Before the final vote.
“We thought it would ensure that our proposal met the criteria set out in the City Council’s resolution,” the dicaloger said.
She also said the school council asked the city shift to be awarded capital improvement funding from Granby Elementary School and Norview Elementary School to other schools.
Vice -Mayor of the City Council Martin Thomas and members Mamie Johnson, John JP Paige, Tommy Smigiel and Jeremy McGee did not respond to the requests on Tuesday. Member Courtney Doyle refused to comment.
After many years of debate about the closure of Norfolk schools, the city council members approved the March resolution to create a plan to close at least 10 schools to the school board. The resolution also states that the City Council can take criminal action against the school board, starting to dictate how the district could use the city’s funding. Currently, the city gives the school system a lump sum budget.
The plan presented on Monday will be closed: the genus school, Tarralton Elementary School, Willoughby Early Childhood Center, Granby Primary School, PB Young Elementary School, Norview Primary School, Berkeley Early Childhood Center, Norfolk Southeast Cooperative Education Program Center and Norfolk Technical Center.
Unlike the previous plan created by the school board, it indicates a specific closure time.
Willoughby and Norview will close the 2026-27 school year. Tarralton, Pb Young, Granby and Ghent School will close the 2027-28 school year. The Norfolk Southeast Cooperative Education Program Center will close the 2028-29 school year. The Berkley Early Childhood Center will be closed at the beginning of the 2029-30 school year and the Norfolk Technical Center will close the 2030-31 school year.
Plans for Genter will be transferred to the Rosemont High School in the International Academy of Studies. The Southeast Cooperative Education Program would move to Chesterfield Primary School, and those students will move to Jacox Elementary School and Richard Bowling Primary School.
Taylor Lake Secondary School, Jacox and Suburban Park Primary School or St. Helena Elementary School will be restored according to plan.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, Trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com