Re: New High School & Russell Elementary

["Judith Brown" <jlbrown@turbonet.com>]

Visionaries,

Speaking as a parent who has had children at Russell for 12 
years now, I think Russell has serious flaws as an elementary school.  
Most importantly, the asphalt-covered playground is undesirable for 
the fall-down-and-get-back-up-again kinds of activities young children 
need to engage in during their recesses. 

Also the narrow, steep streets around Russell, usually lined 
bumper-to-bumper with parked cars, make it difficult and dangerous for 
school buses to access Russell, and for school children to walk to and 
from Russell.  I have seen numerous near misses at the crossing at  
First and Jefferson as children come flooding down the stairs after 
school.  This intersection has been the site of 3 or 4 accidents over 
the past couple of years -- no children or buses involved yet, but it 
is an accident waiting to happen.

I've read that the school district's long-range facilities study
includes a proposal to use Russell as the site of  the alternative
high school.  I think that sounds like an interesting proposal.

Judy Brown

__________
From:          Duncan Palmatier 
To:               vision2020@moscow.com 

Dear Vision2020:

A question that always comes back to my mind is: Why not move the 9-12
grades high school to an expanded facility at the junior high location,
and create two 7-9 grades junior highs, one of which would be at the
present high school?

This would make use of the existing high school, which is not very old,
and which, contrary to some suggestions, is not useful to government or
private use in its existing form.

While I am writing about school district facilities issues, allow me to
vent my vehement objections to conversion of the Russell Elementary
School to some other use. Keep it an elementary school! It is convenient
to Fort Russell families; it is a beautiful building with extraordinary
windows allowing plenty of natural light. I fear that the school
district may treat the Russell school building as it did the 1912 high
school: deferring maintenance until the building is too far gone to
keep.

Duncan Palmatier

Law Office of Duncan Palmatier
530 South Asbury, Suite 5
Moscow, Idaho 83843
Tel: (208) 892-2962
Fax: (208) 892-3853
Email: dpalm@earthlink.net