MOTT HAVEN — The Department of Education’s plan to move a school for special needs children with into P.S. 277 has left parents with children already there frustrated and confused about the lack of communication from the city.
The DOE has proposed adding roughly 42 to 84 seats for autistic or intellectually disabled elementary school students in The Bronx School for Continuous Learners at P.S. 277’s building on 519 St. Anns Ave. based on a projected need for more seats for students with special needs.
If the department’s plan succeeds, the new students will be in place at P.S. 277 for the beginning of the 2015-16 school year.
Mary Perez, who has two children at P.S. 277, said she was confused about the building's fate, especially given the lack of information she had received about the DOE's previous plan to move a charter school to the building.
"I still haven't gotten an answer for that," she said, "and right now, this second, is the first I'm hearing of another co-location."
The DOE had been considering moving the Academic Leadership Charter School into P.S. 277, an idea that infuriated parents who said it could squeeze them out of their space for art, music and gym.
However, they decided to change this plan based on "significant dialogue with parents, the Panel for Educational Policy, the leadership from the affected schools and other members of the community," according to a statement from DOE spokesman Jason Fink.
Although the special ed plan has not attracted quite the same level of ire, parents still criticized the DOE for not being clear about what was happening with the building.
Geneal Chacon, president of P.S. 277's Parents Association, argued that maintenance issues with the school's building, such as broken lights and window issues, should be fixed before any new students move in.
However, she stressed that she was not categorically opposed to co-locating with the Continuous Learners school, which she said would take up less space than the charter school and possibly benefit P.S. 277 students.
"That kind of helps our kids as well," she said, "because we are a school that serves special education kids."
Other parents were less enthusiastic, including Brittany Barnes, who has a daughter in kindergarten and worried about issues with overcrowding if another school came in.
"I just believe that the only school that should be in the building is P.S. 277," she said.
Representatives from the Academic Leadership Charter School and The Bronx School for Continuous Learners did not respond to requests for comment.
The amount of Bronx students enrolling in District 75 schools, which serve students with special needs and include the Bronx School for Continuous Learners, has increased by more than 430 students since the 2011-12 school year, and about 69 percent of students who require these services in P.S. 277's school district leave the district to receive them, according to the DOE.
P.S. 277's building has a target capacity of 851 students and is serving 468 during the current school year, the DOE said.
If the proposal is approved, the DOE anticipates that the building will begin the 2015-16 school year with about 486 to 588 students, keeping the school well under capacity.
The decision to co-locate the schools will be considered at the April 29 Panel for Educational Policy meeting at 100 Hester St. in lower Manhattan. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
Kathy Rivera, who has a son in fifth grade at P.S. 277, criticized the decision to move District 75 students into the school as rushed.
"I don't think we're being given the opportunity to protest it," she said. "I feel like we need more education on that before decisions are being made."
