|
June 4, 2005
Neighborhood
Resists Schools for Troubled Teens
By: Todd
Hollingshead
OREM -- Residents
of a southwest Orem neighborhood are vowing to take the Alpine
School District to court over its plan to relocate two alternative
schools near their homes. Springwater residents are irate about the
district's aim to move the Alpine Life & Learning Center (ALLC) and
Summit High School, both of which teach troubled teens, less than
100 feet from residential homes on their blocks.
They insist the
schools will expose their children to sex, drugs and crime, as well
as decrease property values of nearby homes and jeopardize the
safety of the community.
"We are in the
process of retaining an attorney to prosecute our case in federal
court," resident Duane Gardner wrote in a letter to the Alpine
School Board. "We will not rest until the school is removed from a
residential area and placed in an appropriate location."
Parents in
Springwater fear for the neighborhood's 350 children, the majority
of which are under the age of 12.
ALLC is a high
school for students who are failing or have been expelled, while
Summit High is reserved for students in state custody for various
behaviors and crimes. Between the two schools, there are roughly
1,000 students.
With each school
needing a new location -- Summit High currently is in an overcrowded
American Fork building, and the lease is up on the Utah Valley State
College building that houses Alpine Life -- district officials
decided in August to move both schools to an old recreation center
they purchased in the neighborhood.
The move is slated
for July.
Residents say
reports from Orem City and UVSC show a high number of police
responses to the schools for violence, drugs and crime. They also
say drug paraphernalia have been found on school grounds and that
illicit sexual activity has been witnessed in public restrooms and
outside grounds.
While Alpine Living
principal Tim Brantley said he respects the parents' concerns, he
refutes some of their claims. He said one resident's comment that
two kids were having sex on school grounds and were then suspended,
was false.
"The truth is that
we have less problems and less incidents than you have at a
traditional school," said Brantley, who has experience working at
traditional public schools. "I'm not naive enough to think there
aren't kids that have drugs, but that's at any school."
Brantley noted the
ALLC was located near an elementary school for 10 years without one
troublesome incident.
Still, locals argue
they were kept in the dark, claiming Alpine District officials had
closed-door meetings on the issue and failed to notify the public of
the move until it was too late.
But Rob Smith,
business administrator for the district, counters school board
members discussed the decision to move the schools in open meetings
and complied with Utah law. He acknowledged, though, the district
did not notify the public.
"We're not required
to," Smith said. "The underlying question is: Should we do that?"
District officials
said they have had multiple meetings with residents to address their
concerns, and they are now looking at what can be changed and
improved to ease the tensions. A group of Springwater residents is
slated to meet with district officials again on Thursday.
thollingshead@sltrib.com
|
