Two Spencer schools will merge by Nov. 30

BY JESSE OLIVAREZ Comments 0
Published: November 4, 2009

SPENCER — Oklahoma City School District officials announced Tuesday that Green Pastures and Parker elementary schools will merge beginning at the end of the month.

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Community meetings set
Oklahoma City School District officials will hold two community meetings to inform the public about the upcoming merger of Green Pastures and Parker elementary schools.

Both meetings will be 6 p.m. Tuesday at the schools:

→Green Pastures Elementary School, 4300 N Post Road, Spencer

→Parker Elementary School, 12700 NE 42, Spencer

Source: Oklahoma City School District

Starting Nov. 30, students from Green Pastures will attend school at Parker; both sets of students will eventually move into Green Pastures once a renovation project at that campus is complete.

Moving the students to Parker will allow construction crews working at Green Pastures to work faster, Oklahoma City Superintendent Karl Springer said in a statement.

"Streamlining the two schools now will involve fewer academic interruptions for our students,” Springer said. "With all of the Green Pastures students out of the building during the renovation, the renovation time frame will be expedited approximately four months; this is definitely in the best interest of our students and staff.”

Green Pastures is receiving a $3.6 million renovation funded by the MAPS for Kids initiative. The project will include more classrooms. Once complete in early 2011, the school will accommodate about 370 students.

The two schools combined currently serve 181 students.

When the work at Green Pastures is complete, students from both schools will move permanently to Green Pastures and Parker will be closed. There are no immediate plans for using the Parker building once it is shuttered, school officials said.

As a result of the merger, one principal will be re-assigned and two teachers will be relocated to other schools in the district.

"We have to be judicious with our money,” Springer said. "All of our students deserve to have equity of resources. By moving up the process of a plan already put into place by MAPS for Kids, we are providing that equity to our students in both of these schools. "