Alternative school votes for neighborhood merger.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

Barring any unexpected plot twist, the Eugene School District will lose one of its alternative elementary schools after the next school year.

In a unanimous vote, the site council at Evergreen Alternative Elementary School agreed this week to move ahead with plans to merge with Edgewood Elementary, the neighborhood school with which it shares a building, in 2006-07. The proposal will go to the Edgewood site council April 21, although the group has already told Evergreen it would welcome a partnership, said Jeralynn Beghetto, principal of both schools.

The site council is made up of four teachers, two parents, one classified employee and Beghetto, although she did not vote.

"My perception is that our community and our site council are committed to creating something new and bringing ideas from both schools," she said. "There's a commitment to be open to all ideas and to really work with our parents."

The school board will have final say on Evergreen's closure.

Evergreen opened in 1975, with an emphasis on offering students as much choice as possible within the curriculum. Like the other nine alternative schools, Evergreen has no attendance boundary, and instead enrolls students from throughout the district who are attracted by the program.

At one time the school drew far more applicants than it was able to accommodate, but in recent years its numbers have dwindled, due in part to falling enrollment in the south region. In last month's lottery, Evergreen, with a current enrollment of 99, received just 23 applications.

The slip in numbers has coincided with districtwide reductions in staff, forcing parents to raise thousands of dollars each year to sustain teacher hours.

The idea to merge came from Evergreen's five teachers, who believe the combination of low enrollment and diminished funding has taken too great a toll. Also playing into their decision were recommendations from Superintendent George Russell to smooth inequities among schools. With their ability to cap enrollment and class sizes, alternative schools have an inherent structural advantage over neighborhood schools. They also tend to attract involved parents and fewer low-income, special education and minority students.

Russell recommended reviewing some alternative schools, and specifically suggested Evergreen for merger. He said he didn't believe neighborhood schools and alternative schools should be "co-located." The school board took no specific action on those points.

Longtime Evergreen parent and site council member Laura Blake-Jones said she never expected to be in the position of voting to close "such an innovative and exceptional program." She also noted that Evergreen and Edgewood have co-existed in harmony, with a shared fund-raising committee and general spirit of collaboration.

"It was with a very heavy heart yesterday that all of us voted unanimously the way we did," she said, but added: "I think all of us are ready to get past that and look forward to creating a new, dynamic opportunity with Edgewood."