May 14, 2004

All's too quiet, for now

By Bill Choy
Ashland Daily Tidings

Ashland School District Superintendent Juli Di Chiro asked for ideas on what to do with the property of the former Briscoe Elementary School, and she got them. Including criticism from some residents who think some ideas, such as leasing some of the land to developers, puts financial goals over community need. Many Briscoe neighborhood residents don't want to lose the school's playground and park facilities, which includes soccer and baseball fields.

	Once brimming with youngsters, the former Briscoe Elementary School playgrounds are unused during an afternoon this week. The Ashland School Board is in the process of filling the building with new tenants. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings

Di Chiro asked four residents involved in development and real estate to give the district recommendations for the property, strictly from a "dollars and cents" standpoint, she said.

The committee comprises developer John Schleining, lawyer Jack Davis, real estate agent Patie Millen and Carol Davis, who is a relocation consultant and a member of the district's budget committee. Briscoe Elementary School, which is on North Main Street at Laurel Street, was closed in June because of declining enrollment and budget cuts.

An option to lease

Given that seven rooms are being rented by the Oregon Child Development Coalition Migrant Head Start program, the quartet first suggested the district lease the remaining space for three to five years. The district is already in negotiations for the remaining six rooms with the Lithia Art Guild of Oregon.

The committee's second recommendation was to lease the open land, including the playground and park, to developers.

No decision will be made anytime soon, Di Chiro said, but the board wants a chance to look at all of its options.

"Obviously, everything we do is based on more than financial considerations," she said. "At some point, the board is going to have to move forward and decide if we're just going to lease the rest of the building, or do we start looking at leasing the rest of the land? It's very preliminary at this point. We're just discussing what-ifs."

Mixed reactions

The recommendations were announced to parents and community members at last month's Ashland Quality Education Meeting. District parents and Briscoe neighbors also had their own meeting to discuss concerns about the recommendation last Tuesday night. This meeting was attended by Di Chiro.

Melissa Mitchell-Hooge lives directly behind Briscoe on High Street. Her two children, who now attend Walker Elementary, attended Briscoe before it closed. The park plays an vital role in her neighborhood Mitchell-Hooge said and is a place people congregate to - from kids playing soccer, parents jogging around the park in the evening, to children from a local pre-school using the playground in the mornings.

"It's really used like a city park," she said. "There's nothing like this on this side of town and it's really valuable to us. We're not happy about the idea of development."

Mitchell-Hooge, who attended the Tuesday meeting at Briscoe, said she understood the financial problems of the school district, the possibility of getting rid of the park might not be the right solution.

"I'm hopeful we can work with the school district and talk to the city and the parks department and see what we can come up with," she said. "I got the sense people are resolved to keep this park for this part of the town and community."

Tom Petersen, a local lawyer whose children used to go to Briscoe, is strongly opposed to the idea of residential or commercial development replacing the park.

"The bottom line is this: We lost our school last year and it was a big hit to the community," he said. "Those that went to Briscoe weren't happy about it, but we did it on the condition ... that we have a playground that is basically a park in that part of town. We need to have this for our kids and our community. Now you want to take that away? It's not fair, it's not right and we're not going to stand for it."

Tony Shelton has three children attending school in Ashland, two at Lincoln Elementary and one at Ashland Middle School and is concerned with the possibility that the school district may develop the Briscoe property.

"School officials are being driven by numbers," Shelton said. "Present actions will severely limit future options by doing something that prevents Briscoe from ever being a school again. It's not good to close a school site we might eventually need."

Di Chiro says the overall reaction has been mixed.

"Some people thought it was a very good idea and some thought it was a horrible idea and want it to stay the way it is," she said. "Some people really understand that we need to do something to bring revenue into the district and protect the schools that remain open."

Davis suggested to Di Chiro that the district look into a charette process to gain community feedback.

School board member Heidi Parker likes the idea.

"This is really a huge decision," Parker said. "I think it's important to cooperate with the entire community. The charette will allow us to explore the question of Briscoe in depth."

But if the district decides to lease the property to a developer, the process would be laden with public meetings, and the district would need to receive city approval.

There are no plans at this time to knock down the school building, Di Chiro said.

"There's value in the building, so why knock it down?" she said.

But to have the area behind the school continue as a park might not be a viable long-term alternative, Di Chiro said.

"Of course, that would be lovely, but it wouldn't bring any revenue to the district, so there's a problem with that," she said.