Enrollment and Facilities

By Jennifer "Jenn" (Bair) Bernabei

After Measure A (a $26MM bond), we will have the same number of classrooms for K-4 that we did prior to the construction of The Cove School, which adds 16 classrooms, due to the removal of 15 portables on Neil Cummins' campus. At the completion of Phase II, if passed, we will have six additional classrooms as it is currently proposed.

Currently, we have about 34 students in our 7th grade science classrooms and approximately 24 students in our second grade classrooms. While science rooms have typically been larger than other classes, when my children attended Hall there were 28 and 30 children, respectively. For reference, my children were in seventh grade in 2009/10 and 2010/11. We need to be creative and proactive to address the large enrollment numbers as they matriculate through Hall.

Finally, I would like to examine the interest in building a gym or large multi-use space for the Cove School and East Corte Madera. I know this topic has come up in the past and I want to know how our community feels about this idea? I know a number of our after-school and athletic programs suffer due to the lack of gym and/or field space. Because gyms are expensive, I do not want to mislead voters, because I'm not sure if this can be accomplished in the next four years, but if the community wants one, I think we should work towards achieving it.