Corbin board likely to rebuff school proposal

A potentially controversial proposal to change the way Corbin’s elementary school system is structured will likely fall by the wayside, for now, as officials with the school system plan to take up the subject during a special called meeting of the Board of Education tonight.
The meeting, which will be held at the Corbin Independent Schools Board of Education Building at 7:30 p.m., will be mainly a chance for school board members to meet with architects and construction managers about cost projections and design details for a new elementary school.
But it will also be an opportunity for members to weigh in on the subject of changing the district’s current grade configuration to two Kindergarten through 5th grade schools when the new school is complete in 2008.
“I think everybody is in agreement that they tentatively want to stay in the same grade configuration we’ve been in for the last 20 years instead of changing,” Corbin Schools Superintendent Ed McNeel said Tuesday. “I don’t have any problem with that. I’ve been in education a long time and I can argue either way. There are some good points either way you go with it, but Corbin has been successful for 20 years with high test scores, so why change? It’s a good point.”
The issue was raised after a special committee, formed to provide a comprehensive review of the district facilities, suggested the new elementary school should be a K-5 school. Currently, all district students attend Central Primary Elementary for grades K-2 and South Elementary for grades 3-5. The district changed to its current structure in the mid-1980s.
McNeel said a change would present problems with determining districts for the elementary schools, and it would increase cost of materials for the school which would have to duplicate grade-related material. A change to two K-5 schools would allow for more aggressive “looping” – a concept where students keep the same teacher over several grades – and would simplify some busing routes.
McNeel said he expects board members will instruct him to reconvene the Facilities Planning Committee so they may reconsider their recommendation.
“I think most members of the committee are aware of the potential issues there and that maybe we don’t need to fight that battle right now,” McNeel said. “Many of them have been listening to the community.”
The Board of Education has final decision-making authority on parts of the plan.