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SUNNY Temp: 36 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Monday, October 14, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 29, 2002 New middle school would be on par with other two By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Bulging with students, Medford’s two middle schools are near the breaking point, leaving it to voters to decide if they want to spend $38 million to solve the problem. Related stories: � Medford votes on an idea new to Jackson County: a skills center � Skills centers are familiar to schools elsewhere in U.S . Hedrick, which was considered the biggest middle school in Oregon last year, has almost 1,200 students and McLoughlin more than 1,100, with more students expected in the coming years. Educators say an ideal size for most middle schools is a maximum 800 students. Elementary schools are feeling the pinch because they can’t send any more sixth-graders to the middle schools than the 244 students who are part of a pilot project. As a result, both Howard and Abraham Lincoln elementary schools now have more than 600 students.Educators generally feel an elementary school of 400 students is a more suitable learning environment.The middle school will cost more per square foot than an $8 million, 56,000-square-foot middle school planned for 450 students in Eagle Point next year, but school officials say it is worth it because it maintains the same level of programs now offered at both Hedrick and McLoughlin. "Would you want to create a third middle school that didn’t have all the facilities that our current middle school offers?" asks Marjorie Lininger, principal at Hedrick. Superintendent Steve Wisely said, "We don’t want anyone to feel that they’re at a lesser school." The proposed 184,000-square-foot, two-story middle school would be built on 40 acres at South Columbus Avenue and Cunningham Street in southwest Medford and could house up to 1,200 students. Voters will decide Nov. 5 whether the third middle school should be built as part of a $79 million bond measure. This would be the second time since 1985 that a new school has opened in the Medford district, while during the same period enrollment has shot up from 4,000 students to 13,000. Peter Schmitz, architect with OgdenKistler and Associates, said the design and the cost were based on the kinds of programs offered at Medford’s existing campuses. In visits to middle schools in the northern part of the state, Schmitz said, he found that all offered a core of classes similar to Medford’s, but not always as complete. "They didn’t have as many elective classes up north," Schmitz said. "Some had a woodshop or a technology class, but usually not both." The new facility would have three computer classes, compared to one or two at most schools. It would also have an arts and crafts room, a cooking area, a drama room and a choral hall. "We would have a complete special education area with four rooms," he said. Even if a new middle school is built, there will be about 1,000 students at each campus. The middle school campuses will absorb another 750 sixth-graders once the new campus is built, swelling overall enrollment to 3,000 in grades 6, 7 and 8. While the new school won’t bring enrollment down to an ideal level of 800 per school, Lininger said the middle schools and elementary schools would look far worse if a third campus isn’t built. In the meantime, enrollment is expected to grow until the campus is competed by September 2004. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S