January 22, 2004

Dr. Thomas Hicks

Superintendent Racine Unified School District

2220 Northwestern Avenue Racine, WI 53404

The students, parents, staff and community of Walden III have heard many recommendations and rumors lately regarding the location for the future of the Walden program. We have many questions and concerns that we believe should be answered before informed and educated decisions are made regarding not only Walden's program, but also the other programs being affected by these changes. The following questions have been raised, and we address them to you in hopes that you will forward them to the various people necessary to give us the information and answers we request. In addition, we ask that any public meetings addressing these issues be held in a location where they can easily accommodate the anticipated crowd.

Many a plan has been studied, consultants paid, public forums, discussions and meetings held, only to be replaced by a new plan, with new studies, discussions, etc. Is there a long range plan for this district overall and Walden in particular? What is the likelihood of it being implemented? What is the long range plan regarding magnet schools in Racine? How did we get in this mess? Why does it seem that the most successful programs in the district are the ones most often targeted for change?

Why are outside experts brought in at great expense and our local building inspectors, building engineers, administrators and staff not used?

Are recommendations being fully thought out regarding costing, feasibility etc. before upsetting the community? Have they factored all the costs into the recommendations? What is the increase cost of bussing to a location not centrally placed?

How is the cost of moving 600-700 students out of McKinley and 500 students from Walden into the building justified? What will happen to the freedom that Walden students now have such as no bells announcing the start and end of class and open campus? Would these freedoms have to be changed to coexist with other programs in one building? Will a new facility allow us to keep the middle and high school portions of our school isolated and integrated as they currently are? What will happen to our artwork? Can we expect that artwork will be preserved and moved with us? What effect will moving have on the Walden program? Will moving dilute the program?

Moving and relocation costs means less money available for educational programs. The cost of moving is not an investment in education. What is the expected cost of refitting different buildings to provide for the needs of Walden? What is the expected cost of moving, packing and unpacking, replacing items that don't fit the new space, staff time and costs, outside services, redrawing bus routes, and changing phone lines?

Has there been a systematic effort by RUSD Buildings and Grounds to close Walden's building? Has normal maintenance been left undone to create the situation in which we find ourselves? Have we received real information about the needed repairs for our building? Please provide us with a list of the repairs and their respective costs that were considered in making the evaluation and decision to close Walden's building. Has the facilities committee viewed the building to compare the list of repairs with the actual building? We request that the facilities committee meet with the staff and engineers of the building to discuss the actual condition and the needed repairs.

Can parents donate to repairs and upgrade facilities? To what extent can parents and students do the work needed in school buildings? Can we raise money for a specific repair? Is there anything that would disallow a building improvement fund or corporate donation?

Walden is not only a school building but a program that impacts the students, staff, families and the community. What impact with moving have on the Walden students and the Walden program regarding their connections and partnerships with the Downtown area? Racine Art Museum? Karen Johnson Productions? What is the cost of these "walking" field trips in terms of time and money? How will the loss of proximity to Downtown and the advantages it offers be replaced if Walden is relocated to a new neighborhood?

What impact will moving Walden to a different building have on the neighborhood at 10th and Center St.? On the city? What impact will moving have on the Head Start Program across the street? The Cops 'N Kids? Head Start people are concerned. They benefit from their collaboration with Walden which in turn benefits our community in general.

What is the plan for the Walden building if it is closed? What are the costs associated with closing a building, ie winterization to avoid water pipe freeze, protection from vandalism and break-ins etc.? Have they been factored into the overall cost? Will the building be torn down? If so, will the asbestos need to be contained and removed before demolition. If we would need to remove the asbestos anyway, should its existence and cost of removal be used as a reason to abandon the building? What affect will an abandoned school have on the neighborhood?

And finally, if we opt to fight to stay in our building, will that affect our program or its future?

We look forward to receiving answers to our questions so that we may make reasonable decisions regarding our school. Thank you.