Lake St. Louis & Wentzville School District Residents Against Modulars and in Support of Responsible Management of Green Tree Elementary Over Capacity Enrollment 2010/11

Topic:
Beginning the 2010/11 school year, Green Tree Elementary School (GTE) will be over capacity as a result of the Wentzville School District (WSD) choosing to adopt a full day kindergarten program. Beginning the same school year, Prairie View Elementary School (PVE) will be under capacity and is 2 miles from GTE. As a resolution, the School District's first choice was to accommodate the Green Tree student overage at PVE to allow a safe and uniform quality of education for all students.

Issue:
A parent group in Lake St. Louis has objected and asked the WSD to put large trailer (modular) classrooms at Green Tree Elementary instead of using Prairie View Elementary. They School District has applied to the City of LSL for approval to move units from another in-district school for placement and occupancy (intended for 4 classrooms at Green Tree).

Student Safety Risks and Degradation of School Experience:
To minimize aesthetic impact, the District plan asks to place the large trailers at the rear most part of the GTE property. Per the Wentzville Fire Protection District, this places the modular classrooms outside of fire code (lack of emergency vehicle access). The units have no plumbing or fire sprinklers or restrooms. Additionally, this location will require our children to enter the main building through an unsupervised rear door of the school for use of all facilities regardless of weather/time of year. The classroom experience in large trailers is below a normal “inclusive” classroom environment for many reasons. One is ventilation (air must be exchanged using exterior equipment that is noisy and runs continuously). Another is the toxicity of building materials and propensity for mold growth (health risks). An added overall negative effect of using the trailers will be crowding throughout the school (cafeteria, gym, music & computer rooms, etc) and added traffic congestion.

Wentzville School District Responsibilities:
Although the District’s #1 responsibility is to the safety and quality of educational experience for our children, they also have financial responsibilities to the district taxpayers. Together the cost of transporting and erecting the used large trailers, making the plan adhere to fire code, and non use of the already paid for resources at PVE equate to an irresponsible financial choice by the WSD.

Lake St. Louis City Requirements:
Because trailers/mobile homes injur property values, LSL City Ordinance considers storing and occupying mobile homes/trailers a "prohibited use" (Chapter 420 Article II section 420.110) Therefore, in order to use one, a property owner must obtain a Special Use Permit from the City. Currently the School District has submitted for a permit which was tabled until 4/5/10 by the City of Lake Saint Louis Board of Aldermen. The request submitted states a minimum need of 24 months “at the earliest”. City requirements are for a maximum initial approval of 6 months (405.340 G).

Summary:
Placing our children in large trailer/modular classrooms at the rear of the Green Tree Elementary property is not the best solution to the over crowding at Green Tree Elementary because it puts students needlessly in harm’s way, denies the students the optimal classroom experience they deserve, overcrowds the facility, wastes taxpayer dollars already invested and negatively impacts the neighboring residential properties (see photos). There are other solutions available that will not cause these issues and thereby would better addresses the over capacity that will occur at Green Tree Elem.