Following is a letter sent to APS jointly by Candler Park and Lake Claire:
Dear Superintendent Davis and Associate Superintendent Smith:
As presidents of the Candler Park Neighborhood Organization (CPNO) and the Lake Claire Neighbors (LCN) — the two neighborhood organizations most affected by last month’s surprise traffic changes at Mary Lin Elementary — we are writing to express our profound disappointment at how these changes were decided, announced and implemented. We are particularly troubled by the approach APS and Mary Lin administrators have taken toward our communities.
Attached is a letter addressed to both of you detailing these concerns. We hope it will help you understand our perspective, and we look forward to further dialogue with you on this issue.
Respectfully yours,
Joe Agee
President
Lake Claire Neighbors
APS Letter from Candler Park and Lake Claire (PDF)
Here is the text of the letter:
Dear Superintendent Davis and Associate Superintendent Smith:
As presidents of the Candler Park Neighborhood Organization (CPNO) and the Lake Claire Neighbors (LCN) — the two neighborhood organizations most affected by lastmonth’s surprise traffic changes at Mary Lin Elementary — we are writing to express our profound disappointment at how these changes were decided, announced and implemented.
We are particularly troubled by the approach APS and Mary Lin administrators have taken toward our communities. Although we appreciate the commitment you both have expressed for improving town-grown relations, our heightened expectations for mutual respect have made efforts to engage in meaningful dialogue all the more frustrating.
The traffic and safety changes are themselves problematic. They include potential domino effects on traffic, as well as risks from pedestrian changes. It also seems that the timing wasn’t a necessary stage for Mary Lin’s construction. As one parent put it, the changes seem to “unfix” problems that existing practices had safely addressed.
Like Mary Lin’s parents, we learned just before the Thanksgiving break that Principal Brian Mitchell planned to ban parents from dropping their children at the eastern curb of Candler Park Drive (beginning Dec. 9). Just a few days later, we found out about plans (also set for Dec. 9) to close the main crosswalk leading to the school and to terminate a 12-year-old, school-sanctioned volunteer crossing-guard program. These unilateral decisions took both parents and neighbors by surprise.
After Mr. Edelstein, president of the CPNO, witnessed Dr. Mitchell’s dismissal of parents’ concerns at a Dec. 2 meeting and after constituents voiced their concerns, the two neighborhood organizations independently took an extraordinary step: the CPNO board and the LCN executive committee used emergency online voting to authorize requests for the school and the APS to suspend the changes in order to have a more inclusive process.
Mr. Edelstein then received a response from Dr. David White, which not only contained substantive inaccuracies but was also dismissive in tone. Oddly, Mr. Agee received a verbatim response from Dr. Mitchell. Although an identical response under different names may seem an expedient method of communication, it only served to confirm the low valuation placed on community input.
Other events seem demonstrate how the lack of open process can translate into flawed implementation. On Dec. 9, Mary Lin was unable to put in place two of the three policy changes. The crosswalk wasn’t closed because (contrary to Dr. Mitchell’s earlier understanding) it was a legal crossing, fully sanctioned by the city. The volunteer crossing guards had to be called back to work because APS was unable to provide a paid guard in time. Unfortunately, since the drop-off was immediately banned, some parents have engaged in a new high risk behavior; at times they leave their children off from the traffic lane because they no longer can pull over to the curb.
The recent unexpected and unvetted changes in the Mary Lin traffic situation have caused stress and consternation for the affected parents, children and surrounding communities. Therefore, we hope you will seriously consider our request that the involved APS administrators engage more meaningfully with the neighborhoods and families served by Mary Lin. We hope that commitment will include a sincere review ofthe school’s traffic and pedestrian practices and policies. This would be a valuable step in restoring confidence between the served community and APS.
Respectfully yours,
Joe Agee
President
Lake Claire NeighborsKen Edelstein
President
Candler Park Neighborhood AssociationJan. 5, 2014