Family sees both sides of bond issue

When Cari Bockover enrolled her daughter, Camri, to attend kindergarten in USD 257 two years ago, she was asked if she would mind seeing her daughter shuttled to a school outside her neighborhood.
No problem, Bockover thought. Even though they lived a few blocks away from Lincoln Elementary School, Camri had yet to make any friends at school, and would have no problem instead attending McKinley Elementary School, in the southeast part of town.
Over-crowding at Lincoln was cited, she recalled.
By the start of Camri’s first-grade year, the overcrowding at Lincoln had apparently solved itself, and she was no longer needed to transfer.
So she attended first grade at Lincoln, where she met several new classmates and garnered new friends.
By the time August rolled around and Camri was ready for second grade, she and her mother had moved to a nearby apartment complex, still within easy walking distance of Lincoln.
But in moving, the Bockovers found themselves in a district assigned to attend Jefferson Elementary School. “Lincoln was still within walking distance,” Bockover recalled. “Jefferson wasn’t.”
Since class sizes at Jefferson were an issue, school administrators approved the Bockovers’ request to have Camri continue to attend Lincoln.
The Bockovers find themselves in the same situation as several other local families who must transfer out of “neighborhood schools.”
The Bockovers and Iolan Barbara Chalker, Cari’s mother and Camri’s grandmother, shared their views about the upcoming bond election, which if approved, would close all three local elementary schools in favor of a single elementary on the north edge of Iola.
Like others, they have mixed feelings on several fronts.
While Bockover and Chalker agree the aging buildings have issues that need addressed immediately, especially regarding accessibility and energy efficiency, they still remain on the fence about building new.
“I’m not thrilled about the location,” Chalker said. “On the other hand, there’s a reason they can’t build to the south, with the flood plain. And they can’t build west, without going over the (Neosho) River.”
Bockover agreed.
“It seems like the natural progression, if Iola is going to grow, it has to be north,” Bockover said. “It seems like everything is going that way. But I don’t see Camri riding that far, to Oregon Road, on her bicycle,” she said.
If bus stops are incorporated throughout Iola, as proposed, she would favor seeing her daughter walk to a site, then ride the bus the rest of the way to school.
“Camri likes walking with her friends,” Bockover said.

ONE MARK advocates have in their favor, Chalker and Bockover agreed, is a single elementary school would provide more equitable resources and opportunities for students throughout USD 257.
Two examples stand out.
While Camri was in kindergarten, her mother worked alongside a coworker who had a student attend another elementary school.
“So we’d compare notes on how their classes were going,” Bockover recalled.
While each kindergarten followed the same curriculum guidelines, their scheduling often varied greatly.
“My coworker’s son was doing Accelerated Reader in his first semester,” she said. “Camri didn’t start until her second.”
“I don’t know if one way was better than the other,” Anderson said. “They were just different. When Camri got to Lincoln, she wasn’t behind or anything. But I can’t help but wonder if there are other differences.”
Likewise, Bockover noted Camri’s year-end field trip her kindergarten year was to Iola’s Riverside Park. Her coworker’s son was part of a field trip that went to Kansas City.
Such decisions on teaching and field trips are made by individual teachers, noted McKinley Principal Lori Maxwell.
Speaking generally, Maxwell said several factors, including class sizes, available supervision and the behavior of students are taken into account when each field trip is decided.
Anderson wonders if having all of the grade levels in USD 257 under one roof would make such events more consistent.
“They’d all have access to the same materials, and the teacher would be working closer together,” Anderson said.

CHALKER and Bockover said they go back and forth on deciding how they’ll vote.
Bockover noted Camri wants to stay at Lincoln.
“That’s probably natural,” she said. “We loved McKinley, too.”
“I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been so busy I haven’t been to any forums,” Chalker said. “I’ll talk with somebody one day, and think yes, I’ll vote for it. Then I’ll talk to some of my friends, who aren’t in favor. I just want schools that are equitable and give our kids the same opportunities.”