Is the new school design plan the right plan?

Originally known as the Valentine School in honor of McCook's outstanding early day superintendent, the building we now know as East Ward was a source of pride to the community for many years.

But time has taken its toll. Like West Ward -- which has been closed -- East Ward is falling behind the times, unable to meet safety standards and technological needs without large expenditures for major structural changes.

After becoming aware of the old grade school buildings' demise, the McCook Board of Education began offering building plans to the voters at the start of the new century.

But -- largely because of cost -- the first two plans in the 2000s plunged to defeat. The first of the bond issues, which was for $12.6 million, lost by 451 votes, and the second, for $9.7 million, fell to defeat by a 254-vote margin.

Now, the board of education is coming back with another plan, this time proposing that the elementary facilities' problem be solved by constructing a single-site, kindergarten through third grade, elementary building on the current North Ward site.

The latest plan, which was developed by W Design Associates of McCook, should be more to the liking of the voters than previous plans. For one thing it's more reasonably priced, with the proposed price of $5.3 million coming in $7 million less than the plan presented in 2000, and $4 million less than the bond issue proposal in 2001.

And the plan does other things, too. It gets rid of the modular classrooms -- the so-called tin shanties -- and it improves safety by eliminating the two-story elementary school structures.

But, in the opinion of Kathy Latta, the East Ward and North Ward principal, the greatest advantage of the new school plan is that it would improve the educational experience for students. By having all K-3 students and teachers together at one site, Mrs. Latta believes the school's resources could be better utilized while building a stable, unified learning environment for the children.

The school board, administrators and educators believe the proposed plan is both needed and practical, but the decision will ultimately rest with the voters.

To see if the latest plan has merit and is worthy of being placed on the ballot, the board has scheduled a special meeting Thursday evening, Nov. 6, at the Junior High Cafeteria. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., and will feature a thorough discussion of what the architect is proposing.

If the reaction is favorable, it's likely that the $5.3 million single-site elementary school plan will be on the May primary ballot.

There's no doubt about it. The need for grade school facilities is urgent. What remains to be decided is if this is the right plan and, if so, will the public get behind it and carry it to passage.