West Jordan Elementary School
Edit: At the meeting I misunderstood a key point. I thought that there was a report made by the inspectors when it was a verbal recommendation.
Last night I attended an open house/town hall meeting where patrons were able to speak their minds and to ask Jen Atwood, Matt Young, and Nikki George questions about the future of West Jordan Elementary School. I am glad that I was able to be there. I love unity. Seeing so many different people, with different reasons for wanting to save West Jordan Elementary united in their hope is really great.
The remaining options for the future of WJE are:
1- Close and demolish WJE with other schools absorbing the students and teachers
2-Close WJE for at least two years with other schools absorbing the students and teachers while the building is demolished and rebuilt
3-Same as option one, but with the commitment of the board to invest in renovations and upgrades to the schools absorbing WJE students over a period of years.
I learned that the term for the structure of West Jordan Elementary School is considered is a “modular, relocatable, construction”. There was a lot of talk about trailer frames and trailer foundation. One patron mentioned how as a kid he had gone under the school and seen the trailers.
State certified inspectors, making yearly inspections of the structure have determined that the building is becoming unsafe. There was a general feeling of mistrust about these inspections and inspectors at the open house. Number one reason is that the report of the inspection is not made public and number two is that the inspectors are internal to Jordan School District and might have a conflict of interest. Personally, I would like to see the inspectors’ report, but I can understand why it is not automatically made public. I believe that it is important to keep certain information proprietary for the safety of students and staff. It is good practice to keep details about construction and architecture private so that anyone with malicious intent cannot have access to see how to bypass security measures or cause damage. I hope that a redacted report can be made public. On the second concern, with more than 70 buildings, owned by the school district, that need to be inspected regularly to maintain high standards of safety, it makes sense for the district to have it’s own certified inspectors. As far as a conflict of interest, I don’t believe the inspectors get compensation for deeming a school unsafe.
It seemed like the biggest concern that everyone has is student safety. The school district, represented by the board, feels like the primary safety concern is the risk of using a building that has been judged unsafe by inspectors. Some parents feel like the biggest risk is students attending a school that is close to businesses and restaurants. Many parents mentioned their fear of students interacting with roads and traffic specifically by crossing 2700 West or 2200 West or walking along Redwood Road. I don’t think anyone mentioned 7000 South because WJE students are already crossing that road. I think that all of these concerns are valid. Students will not always follow the safe walking routes and might want to walk by McDonald’s for fries or ice cream on their way home. I’m surprised that no mention was made of the AllStar Lanes parking lot as far as safety.
With the mention last night of walking along and across busy roads I remembered when I started walking or riding a bike to and from school in the third grade. I had ridden a bus before then, but with Prop 13 (I went to elementary school in California.) school districts had to tighten their belts. Each school day I took a shortcut through a shopping center and crossed a four lane road (usually with a crossing guard). I have such fond memories of walking or riding that 1.2 miles with my friends. If we all had a quarter we would stop at Thrifty for an ice cream cone. If we all had a dollar we would stop at Baskin Robbins. When I walked with my little brother we would go into the men’s clothing store and look at all the taxidermy animals. Once when walking through the parking lot of the shopping center with my little brother a man pulled up next to us to ask directions to the mall. I was ten, and my brother was six. He asked us to get into his car to show him the way. We did not.
I can see the risks of kids walking in areas that aren’t neighborhoods. I also appreciate the confidence I gained from navigating my way to and from school through these areas.
Several suggestions were made to keep West Jordan Elementary as is, jack the building up to replace the trailers, or do some type of renovation /rebuild with the students still attending. Of course I would like to see the inspection reports, but even without seeing them I am willing to believe the inspectors that the building is becoming less and less safe. I think that any large scale construction on an elementary school with students present poses a real safety risk.
Some comments and questions were about possible developments and population growth within West Jordan Elementary School’s boundaries. I am interested to see if student enrollment went up this year. The information that I have shows a spike in enrollment for the 2019/20 school year then decreases for the past two school years. It also looks like WJE had the third lowest enrollment of the nine elementary schools in district 7 of JSD.
Last night I loved Jen Atwood’s comments about even with a rebuild West Jordan Elementary would be closed for at least two years with the students going to different schools for that period, and do we want to take them from a school that they love twice. I loved Nikki George’s comment that the members of the West Jordan Elementary community have the ability to bless whatever school community they may be in. I believe that. The parents and families that I have met and seen speak for their school have impressed me so much with their dedication and love for their community. The love and respect that I see between members of the WJE community as they listen to and interact with each other is truly wonderful.
