The Dallas News
The Lochwood neighborhood east of White Rock Lake is rallying to oppose possible DISD recommendations to alleviate crowding at Highland Meadows Elementary by moving students to M.T. Reilly Elementary. The fear is that the shift will return portables to the playground at Reilly, which is in the heart of Lochwood.
Neighborhood plea: Scott Robson, president of the Dixon Branch [Lochwood] Homeowners Association, sent an e-mail alert to residents, saying: "While we know that a solution needs to be found to the overcrowding at Highland Meadows Elementary, we would like to ask for neighborhood support in opposing any solution that would place portables at Martha Turner Reilly Elementary. ... Portable classrooms are unsightly, can invite crime, create havens for troublemakers, and adversely affect property values."
DISD options: Highland Meadows opened in 2004 and has a capacity of 766 students. It was built without utilities for portable classrooms. A board briefing report listed these options, which are on the agenda for discussion at Thursday's Dallas school board briefing at 11:30 a.m.:
• Move 48 PK-4 students from the small neighborhood south of the Highland Meadows campus to Reilly. This would not bring Highland Meadows below 100 percent capacity, however.
• Move 133 PK-4 students from Dallas apartments west of Jupiter and south of McCree to Reilly. This would relieve Highland Meadows but push Reilly to about 113 percent utilization.
• Eliminate the three prekindergarten classes (66 students) at Highland Meadows.
• Deny 15 students of employees and 20 hardship transfers permission to return for 2010-11. Review other transfers.
History: Reilly Elementary was dedicated in 1956. The school can take 589 students and is at 89 percent capacity. "It was not too many years since we had over 30 portable buildings at Reilly, and we do not want to repeat this situation," Robson said.
Neighborhood plea: Scott Robson, president of the Dixon Branch [Lochwood] Homeowners Association, sent an e-mail alert to residents, saying: "While we know that a solution needs to be found to the overcrowding at Highland Meadows Elementary, we would like to ask for neighborhood support in opposing any solution that would place portables at Martha Turner Reilly Elementary. ... Portable classrooms are unsightly, can invite crime, create havens for troublemakers, and adversely affect property values."
DISD options: Highland Meadows opened in 2004 and has a capacity of 766 students. It was built without utilities for portable classrooms. A board briefing report listed these options, which are on the agenda for discussion at Thursday's Dallas school board briefing at 11:30 a.m.:
• Move 48 PK-4 students from the small neighborhood south of the Highland Meadows campus to Reilly. This would not bring Highland Meadows below 100 percent capacity, however.
• Move 133 PK-4 students from Dallas apartments west of Jupiter and south of McCree to Reilly. This would relieve Highland Meadows but push Reilly to about 113 percent utilization.
• Eliminate the three prekindergarten classes (66 students) at Highland Meadows.
• Deny 15 students of employees and 20 hardship transfers permission to return for 2010-11. Review other transfers.
History: Reilly Elementary was dedicated in 1956. The school can take 589 students and is at 89 percent capacity. "It was not too many years since we had over 30 portable buildings at Reilly, and we do not want to repeat this situation," Robson said.
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