Perryville considers new elementary school because of cramped classrooms

At the Perryville Elementary School, lunch for kindergarten classes begins at 10:30 a.m. It's early, school officials acknowledge, but it's just one of many adjustments that have been made to accommodate a growing number of students.

The building was built as a high school in 1976, and its cafeteria has enough seating for 200 students. But officials on Friday said the space is inadequate, as about 870 children from kindergarten through fourth-grade file through the cafeteria until 1:30 p.m.

Before lunch, the area serves a second purpose, as a Title I reading teacher sits with several students at a cafeteria table, because there's no longer enough space to have her own classroom.

Another reading teacher tries to work with students at a table on the gymnasium stage, where the only thing separating the students from the noise of physical education classes is a curtain.

At a third-grade classroom, an art teacher stands next to a cart she uses to push supplies from one room to the next. The school has two art teachers but only one classroom, because the other was turned into a regular classroom. So they take turns using "art on a cart" for some lessons, and the art classroom is reserved for messier projects.

Nearby noise from two physical education classes is an issue for students in a Title I reading class that meets on the stage of the gymnasium Friday at Perryville Elementary School in Perryville, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

The former counseling room is a regular classroom now. So locked filing cabinets that contain counseling information line a section of the hallway -- just one example of the lack of space.

The challenges have piled up over the past several years, principal Jennifer Streiler said Friday, and the student population has grown by about 120.

Walls have been built to divide classrooms. Counselors and Title I teachers no longer have their own space. Two computer labs were turned into a regular classroom and a space for students with behavioral issues.

The third-grade class is the largest this year, with more than 200 students, Streiler said. The highest number of third-grade students per classroom is 27. And with varying class sizes comes different needs for each grade.

"For example, last year, we normally only have eight second-grade teachers," she said. "But because that class is so large, we took one of our third-grade teachers and made him a second-grade teacher, who was going to loop to third grade. He kept the same cohort of students in the same classroom for two years. That's sometimes how we work through that bubble of kids."

Chris Pagano is one of two art teachers who alternate teaching from an art cart and the art classroom, as seen Friday at Perryville Elementary School in Perryville, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

But while the elementary staff has been doing its best to make the space work, district administrators and board members are considering asking taxpayers for help.

Superintendent Scott Ireland said a bond issue steering committee is being formed to come up with possible solutions for the crowding issues. The committee will consist of anyone who wants to help, from community members to district personnel.

"We're trying to gauge from our community what they would support," Ireland said.

The district is debt-free, he said, adding more than $600,000 was put back into funds last year.

"We're being very responsible with the taxpayer money right now," Ireland said, adding there's about $8 million in reserve funding. "But I can't take that $8 million out and put it toward building projects."

Kindergarten students walk to lunch that begins at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Perryville Elementary School in Perryville, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Ireland said the reserve is for when money is tight at the district and salaries need to be paid.

The last construction project for students was in 1994, he said, which was a remodel and expansion project at the high school. The lease for the project has since been paid off.

"Our bond capacity is quite high, but you have to find out what the community is willing to support," Ireland said.

The committee will determine what taxpayers would rather fund -- whether it is a new elementary school, a new building for prekindergarten and kindergarten students or possibly a high school.

The group is expected to be organized within the next month, and people from outside the district will analyze the buildings to determine the greatest needs, he said. A report will be released early next year.

Perryville Elementary School is seen Friday in Perryville, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

The elementary school's enrollment of 876 is among the highest student populations under one elementary roof in the state, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Second Education.

Kate Martin, communications director for the school district, said it's more common for elementary schools to have 500 students in one building.

Ireland said as the large third-grade class advances, the fifth-grade center also will be crowded. If the trend of large class sizes continues, problems will arise at the middle school and high school, as well.

But despite the crowding, teachers at the elementary still are providing students with a quality education, Ireland said.

"Our teachers are very adaptable. They're going to do the best they can with what we got. What we want to do is give them the tools and space to be the best they can be at their jobs," he said. "Our teachers do a fantastic job with what facilities we have. Just imagine what we could do if we had better facilities."

klamb@semissourian.com

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326 College St., Perryville, Mo.