Former Emerson Elementary will house Gateway alternative program

The former Emerson Elementary School in northwest Wichita, which closed in 2012 as part of a new attendance boundary plan, soon will house the district’s Gateway alternative program, officials said Monday.

One neighbor who lives near the school, at 2330 W. 15th St., told school board members that residents weren’t informed of the move, and some worry about safety and property values.

“This is very alarming to the residents in our area,” Dennis Kelderman said.

“Although we understand your desire to put a school into a better neighborhood, we ask you to please consider what putting troubled students into a residential area that wasn’t meant for high-schoolers does for the stability and welfare of the neighborhood.”

The Gateway alternative program serves middle and high school students who have been suspended or expelled from their assigned school. Enrollment ranges from 25 to 60 students, depending on the time of year.

Students can be there for weeks or months. Many are evaluated to see if they qualify for special education services before they transition back to their home school or another school.

Newer, nicer property

Since 2010, the program has been housed in the former Metro-Midtown Alternative High School, 640 N. Emporia. District officials said the Emerson property is newer, nicer and will better serve students’ needs.

“The facilities are (a) night-and-day difference,” said Superintendent John Allison. Most importantly, he said, the former Emerson school is a single-floor building, and it has updated mechanics and a severe weather safe room.

“Looking at our available facilities, that seemed to be a logical move,” Allison said.

School board members voted in May to trim about $18 million from the district’s budget. The plan included moving Gateway to another location – possibly a former elementary school, Allison said at the time, but none was specified.

Officials said moving the program to a different building does not require board discussion or action.

Board member Lynn Rogers, whose district includes the area around the former Emerson Elementary, said he was aware of the plan and thinks it’s a good one.

“They’re very quiet buildings. It’s a small student population, and there’s a high level of adult supervision,” Rogers said. “So I don’t think the neighbors will really notice very much.”

Traffic flow

Kelderman, who lives about two blocks from the school, said he and other neighbors are worried about increased traffic volume and about high-schoolers driving through the area or parking along residential streets.

Allison said all Gateway students ride buses, so traffic shouldn’t be a concern.

“All the phone calls I’ve had about Emerson have been, ‘When is the district going to reuse the building?’ Because they don’t like it being empty,” Allison said. “The reality of it is that there will not be an elementary that comes back to that building, and this is a good use for it.”

It’s unclear what the district plans to do with the former Metro-Midtown building on North Emporia.

Last year, officials with the nonprofit Fundamental Learning Center offered the Wichita district $350,000 for either the former Emerson Elementary or another vacant school building. District officials declined the offer, saying they had not decided about the properties’ future use.

The former Emerson Elementary, built in 1954, received more than $1.5 million worth of bond issue upgrades in 2004, including a new multipurpose room, kitchen and classroom. The building is 25,512 square feet and sits on more than seven acres.

Other action

In other action Monday, the Wichita school board elected Sheril Logan president and Barbara Fuller vice president for the coming year.

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Former Emerson Elementary will house Gateway alternative program."