There are many reasons this is a bad idea. First and foremost should be the consideration that teachers are already taxed to their wits end at times with classrooms filled with 22 - 25 children at present. By combining all the middle schools, the classrooms will be severely overloaded. It's already difficult for teachers trying to conduct classes when they have to spend 1/3 - 1/2 of the class dealing with unruly children instead of being able to teach the children who come to school ready and wanting to learn. When the school district and/or county removed the STARS program from our area schools, it took the one positive tool that teachers had to deal with disruptive, even at times violent students.

Secondly, it is financially a train wreck to combine all the schools. We, as tax payers of the community watched our school district approve RIDICULOUS amounts of money remodeling multiple schools (Beecher Elementary, Parley Coburn Elementary, Southside High School, etc.,) in order to make "necessary improvements" to our schools to "improve the educational experience for our students". Now they want to combine schools!?! What was the point of spending all this money if those schools are to be shut done and shoved into just certain ones?!?!?

Thirdly, it is completely obvious that there are serious school rivalries still in existence. It would be remiss of the school district to believe that this would simply go away when they blend the schools. What is the most likely scenario is that the teachers and administrative staff will be spending the majority to the time dealing with violent outbursts of all kind as a result rather than actually teaching of any sort. As a parent I am EXTREMELY CONCERNED with my children's safety with the foolish idea of blending schools. The school district doesn't cover injuries that occur to students as it is even when those injuries occur on school property and even as a direct result of negligence. The fact remains that when the schools are blended and there are a great deal of violence and outbursts and students get injured~which will most likely happen as even teachers are fearing~ the district will NOT take responsibility nor cover the medical costs that will occur as a result of injuries.

Next, it concerns me to hear from different staff sources within the district that they are considering doing away with the position of guidance counselors and pushing those duties onto already overworked secretaries. Meaning no disrespect to the secretaries who do their job very well, but the school guidance counselors provide an INVALUABLE service to our children! They are there to not only provide the answers to questions and make certain the children complete the required course, but give a structured, dependable person that children can turn to whenever they need a resource to talk to.

Lastly, what should be more important to the Elmira City School district is actually being MORE CONCERNED with EDUCATING our kids. Right now, even as I type this and within the last month Broadway Middle School has been placed BACK ON the list of Schools in Need of Improvement. To me, that says that our district and the staff it employs should be more concerned with the education of our children that making a foolish and downright idiotic choice of attempting to blend the schools. By blending schools, the children who want to learn, especially the more advanced students will be pushed to the side because behavioral outbursts will be the main issue rather than the education.

Please make the district aware that this is a bad choice for our community as a whole, for our tax dollars as a financial choice, and most importantly for our children. PUT THE EDUCATION OF OUR CHILDREN BACK TO THE TOP PRIORITY OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OUR SCHOOLS!! SAY NO TO BLENDING OF THE SCHOOLS IN THE ELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT!!