Decatur to reopen its middle school campus

DECATUR -- An "identity of their own" was the motivation behind the Decatur School Board's decision to reopen the old middle school for the 2014-15 school year.

Acting on recommendations by Larry Ben, district superintendent, the board, at its Jan. 20 meeting, voted to reopen the facility.

Decatur Middle School took over the old elementary school building, located next to Decatur High School, when Northside Elementary was completed.

In 2009, during the state-mandated fiscal distress, the middle school was closed in an effort to cut operational expenses for the district. Students from grades 7 to 9 were moved to the high school, where they remain at present.

With the recent growth of the Decatur School District, Northside Elementary is in need of space. In the last two years, every room (including one not intended for student use) has been pressed into service. This prompted Ben to conduct a study on reopening the middle school facility.

The first step was to seek public input. A series of public meetings were held to allow parents of students in grades six through eight to express their thoughts on the subject. From these meetings and input from parents during other events, Ben received positive feedback. The next step was to approach the faculty and staff during meetings held at the high school. The feedback was again favorable for the reopening of the middle school.

Armed with the information obtained through this series of meetings, Ben wrote a proposal and presented it to the school board.

In Ben's proposal, a portion of the old middle school building would be renovated to meet state standards. Sixth grade students from Northside and grades seven and eight from the high school will be moved into the facility. This move would enable the sixth through eighth grade students to have an identity of their own.

Staffing for the middle school would include a secretary, full-time principal and vice-principal (it was not decided whether vice-principal would be a full- or half-time position). The faculty would be relocated from the elementary and high schools to the middle school facility.

With the passing of all but two points of the proposal, the Decatur Middle School is scheduled to open on the first day of the 2014-15 school year.

In other business, John Unger, Decatur's athletic director, presented a special report on his department.

The board decided to go ahead with the construction of the new soccer field, which will be located west of the football stadium. A completion date has not been set.

The Decatur School Board meets on the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m in the meeting room of the old middle school building on the west side of the basketball court, next to the high school cafeteria. The meetings are open to the public.