As elementary school-aged students finished their after-school programs and headed home Tuesday evening, parents, elected officials, and other community members flowed into an Upper West Side school for a forum on classroom overcrowding. The event, held at Alfred E. Smith Elementary Schoolon W. 97th Street—more often referred to as P.S. 163 in New York City School District 3—was organized by City Council Members Melissa Mark Viverito(D-Spanish Harlem), Inez Dickens(D- Central Harlem), and Gale Brewer(D-Upper West Side).
At “Busting at the Seams: A look at Overcrowding in Our Upper West Side Public Schools” those in attendance, like P.S. 163 Principal Virginia Pepe, voiced concerns about overcrowded classrooms, commenting on the importance of community discussion to resolve the issue “rather than watching and waiting for the crisis to get out of hand.”
Parents in particular seemed both familiar with the problem of overcrowding and its causes. One parent of a P.S. 163 fifth grader speculated that recent construction of apartment buildings would bring new families to the area and wondered aloud how many new students from those families would come to public school. Mary Hughes of P.S. 199 in the south of District 3 said that the kindergarten class at her school had doubled in size from the year before. “We kind of want to be proactive about dealing with space issues,” she continued. Christine Annechino, also of P.S. 199, agreed.
“Developers should have to pay, contribute to schools if they’re going to add students,” Hughes said. “It’s about being responsible,” added Annechino.
Viverito agreed with the parents’ comments, applauding the Parent Teacher Association for initiating what she called “the beginning of the dialogue,” and criticizing the fact that members of Department of Education’s facilities department were not present. “I really don’t find that acceptable from the Department of Education,” she said, adding, “That is a disservice to all of those who are here tonight.”
One DOE representative, although not from the facilities department, who was in attendance spoke briefly, saying that “conversation” like the forum “is always important.”
P.S. 163 is widely considered to be an overcrowded school, and seven high rise apartment buildings are under construction in the close vicinity, promising to feed more students in coming years. Julia Heath Gil, PTA Co-President of P.S. 163, said that many members of the school community worried about how space issues with construction would affect “our little school.”
Nine schools in District 3 were considered over capacity according to state legal guidelines, according to a DOE space report for the 2007-08 school year. P.S. 163 was listed at 139 percent capacity, while P.S. 75 on West End Avenue was listed at 133 percent capacity.
Ideas such as capping enrollment in public schools, re-drawing zoning lines, and building new schools were offered as possible solutions to the overcrowding.
Talk of overcrowding led the assembled parents and officials to other topics of concern in city education, namely budget cuts and mayoral control. Officials urged parents to voice their concerns by participating in other community discussions and writing letters to the mayor and their representatives.