by Kendra Peek

More than 50 parents and community members filled the Danville High School Flex room Monday night to hear more about the proposed school district facilities plan.

The plan, which was approved by the local planning committee following the public hearing in a 9-6 vote, lays out the future plan for new construction and renovation projects within the Danville Independent School District.

Under the proposed plan:

• Hogsett Elementary School would become the district’s kindergarten and first-grade center;

• Jennie Rogers Elementary would become the district’s preschool;

• additional finishing touches would be added to the updated Toliver Elementary School, which will be a second through fifth grade center;

• renovations would be made to the Swain Fitness center, the district’s women’s gymnasium;

• a new bus garage and a new maintenance facility would be constructed; and

• the Gore House, which is used for storage, would be renovated.

The plan calls for no changes at Bate Middle School or Danville High School.

The proposal is intended to guide future plans in the district, but doesn’t dictate exactly which projects will actually happen or when.

Many who attended the forum expressed concern at separating the preschool children from the kindergarten and first-grade students. Officials have said previously that putting all the grades together isn’t financially feasible.

People who addressed the committee were split five to five on a separate preschool. About 10 in attendance raised their hands to show support for making Jennie Rogers the kindergarten and first-grade center.

Kathy Merryman, one of the parents who spoke, told the committee she wanted them to reconsider moving students out of Jennie Rogers because they would be no longer connected to the “heart of the city.” The children would not be able to walk for field trips, she said, which is an important element of being part of the Danville community.

Maggie Shapiro Haskett, a parent and the education director at the Community Arts Center, said she liked the plan to use Jennie Rogers and Hogsett.

“Don’t take away from Hogsett,” she said.

If the district were to reconsider and swap, or close the school, Haskett said she thought it would send the message that the schools are to be part of Danville, but not “south of Main Street.”

Parent Jenny Anderson expressed support for keeping the kindergarten and first grade children at Hogsett, because it would allow the families in that area to walk, which might be a necessity for some, not a luxury.

“It will be nice to bring the community together more,” Anderson said. “(Families) could experience the community more.”

Dorothy Contini, a kindergarten teacher at Hogsett, said that was very true.

“We have parents who walk to school to volunteer, for after-school,” she said.

Walkability was the reason other parents cited swapping Hogsett and Jennie Rogers, stating that children could walk to the fire department or the library for field trips.

Ultimately, Contini said later, she was just excited at having a center for the kindergarten and first-grade students.

“We want it to be top notch,” she said.

Suzanne Farmer, an educator with experience working in a similar early childhood center, said she is “really excited” about the kindergarten and first-grade center, she only wished it could include preschoolers.

“I want to make sure that whatever it is, is great — the best thing for those kids,” Farmer said.

One of the major issues with placing the children all at Jennie Rogers is the classroom size. Lucas said the Kentucky Department of Education encourages districts to place kindergarten and first-grade children in rooms that are 800 square feet, and to place preschool children in rooms that are 825 square feet, with the extra 25 square feet being for a bathroom.

“There are no rooms at Jennie Rogers like that,” he said.

In fact, to house the preschool children, three classrooms at Jennie Rogers are going to be renovated into two. There is no mention of having to renovate the classrooms at Hogsett in the plan.

After being approved by the committee, the plan will go before the Danville Board of Education. If approved by the board, another public hearing will be held, during which people can speak before the board regarding the plan.

If the board does not approve the plan, it would return to the committee with proposed changes.

If, following the public hearing, the board still wants to move forward, the plan will be sent to the Kentucky Department of Education for approval. It could be January before that approval happens.

The plan established by the committee is an “excellent plan,” said Tim Lucas, facilitator for the committee.

“This is a plan that this committee has worked very hard on,” Lucas said.