Most of the audience responded with applause Jan. 15 when the
Englewood School Board unanimously approved the superintendent’s
proposal for making major changes in the district.
Superintendent Sean McDaniel said months of work went into
preparing the proposal and, after it was introduced to the board
Dec. 15, about 700 people attended the three public forums on the
proposal to provide community input before the plan was brought up
for a vote.
“This is a plan with five elements,” McDaniel told the school
board. “If you approve it, our staff will begin meeting tomorrow
morning to start working on all the details we need to iron out in
order to implement the plan.”
The approved proposal has five elements:
Combine five elementary schools into four, resulting in four
kindergarten through fifth-grade schools at Clayton, Charles Hay,
Cherrelyn and Bishop.
Change the uses of the Lowell Annex by moving the Englewood
Leadership Academy and Early Childhood Education programs out of
the building and investigate the possibility of finding a tenant to
lease the building.
Relocate the Englewood Leadership Academy to a site that best
meets the needs of the students, staff, community and district.
Relocate the Early Childhood Education programs and staffs to a
single location at the Maddox building.
Redraw elementary school district boundaries to align them with
the reorganization.
About 40 people attended the Jan. 15 special board meeting and
no one signed up to speak on the issue.
Karen Miller, senior member of the school board, after the
meeting said in a voice heavy with emotion that this was the most
difficult decision she has had to make in almost eight years on the
board but she voted in favor of the proposal because she felt was
it was best for the kids and for the future of the district.