Letter to LISD school Board about Milliken

Dear School Board Members

As a Lakeland parent and PTA president reading the bond proposal, I am confused as to why the district would choose to close Delay to students and move all 550 students to Milliken. I know Delay is overcrowded but I am hoping you can answer the many questions I have to help me understand how this solution became the only choice available to our students.

First, I read that the 9th grade program began at Milliken in 1997, but I have only heard test results since 2005 after the new Killough North building opened. I would be interested to know the testing numbers from 1997-2004 compared to 2005-2007. I am sure the first few years will be skewed and I am willing to take that into consideration, but I would like to see the impact, if any, providing a new, clean safe building had on our 9th graders test scores.

It is my understanding that Milliken was not an adequate 9th grade campus and because so we built the new Killough North Campus. Not only had the 9th graders outgrown the facilities, but the building needed repair. If the building was not adequate for students to attend for one year, why is it now fine for me to send my child there for 3 years?

I have heard from District employees that when it rains, the walkways at Milliken flood causing great stress for the staff and students. What measures will be put in place to make sure our children and administrators remain dry during inclimate weather?

Looking through the LISD website, I see there was major mold repair done just a few months ago. What was the root cause of the 290 sq ft of mold that was removed from Milliken in October of 2007? Are your fairly certain the root cause is gone and will most likely not resurface causing similar issues in the near future?

Exactly how much of the $697 million dollar bond is set aside for repairs at the Milliken center? Though the numbers do show that Milliken is a newer building, going from a 40 year old, newly remolded building, to a 31 year old building is a wash in my eyes. Yes, it is a bigger building, but bigger does not always mean better especially when it is in such a bad location compared to the families that will be affected by the change. After you spend the money to update Milliken, approximately how long do you expect to extend the life of the building? Lakeland is only 15 years older has been deemed unsalvageable, Delay is only 9 years older and will be used only to house administration. Is the money vs. time ratio worth our effort?

At Lakeland, one of our main concerns in our old building is our bathrooms. What are the conditions of the bathrooms at Milliken? What is the condition of the water and sewage lines under the building? Are they sound enough to withstand the abuse of middle schoolers?

Since Delay currently houses 550 students, and Milliken can easily hold 900, I assume the district will be redrawing lines to fill the classrooms. Though I know the actual lines will not be announced until the last minute, which elementary schools do you think will be affected by the redrawing?

Currently, many of the Delay students walk to and from school, will there be busses available on a daily basis to transport children, not only during regular school hours, but also those involved in activities that extend beyond the normal school day, like tutoring, band, choir, and athletics practices, performances and games? What is the proposed yearly cost to bus all the children from the South side of Lewisville to the North side of Lewisville on a daily basis? How long will the typical child spend on the school bus?

Back to extra curricular activities, how well have the facilities been kept? What condition are the locker rooms, band hall, choir room, gym, and fields in? What is the estimated cost to bring them up to the standards of the other middle schools in our district?

What year do you plan to move the children there? The city/state has said construction at 407 and I-35 will last for years. How does the district plan to help the flow of traffic into and out of the area?

Though I am fairly new to LISD, I have only lived here for 8 years, I have many friends and acquaintances who have been here for much longer. Through out my years here, I have heard Milliken lovingly referred to by my long time LISD friends as “the armpit of the district” the “wastelands” and “the dungeon” Many of my friends attended school there and they too are shocked it is in consideration to be opened to students again. I have asked parents and teachers alike if they would want to send there kids there, I have heard a loud “NO” from everyone. I have also talked to many long time Lewisville residents who attended Milliken either in middle school or in the ninth grade as students. None of them remember it fondly. When I asked them about riding the bus, they all remember long trips across town that frustrated both them and their parents because they knew they had other schools that were much closer. One friend even said, “As and adult, I choose to buy my house in Flower Mound because I knew, even as a child, Lewisville schools were treated different.”

Finally, I am proud to say my child attends Lakeland. I am convinced we have the best teachers and administrators in the entire district. I am proud of the work that Delay has done over the last few years and the turn around the school has made, but I do not fill moving Delay children out of their neighborhoods from one old building to a bigger old building is what is best for our students or our district. I am asking each of you as a parent and a school board member, if you lived in Old Town Lewisville, would you be proud to send your child to Milliken? If you can not say “YES, I would be proud to send my child to Milliken!” then why should I even consider sending my child there?


Respectfully,

Paige Shoven
PTA President
Lakeland Elementary
972-436-3225
pshoven@verizon.net