Stalled reopening irks Morningside Elementary School parents

Morningside resident Virginia Call doesn't drive often. So when her 12-year-old daughter, Katelyn Dudding, attended Morningside Elementary School, the two walked there almost every day, five minutes away.

But school officials closed Morningside last year as part of a countywide consolidation plan, which closed several schools in order to alleviate overcrowding at some and underuse at others. As part of that plan, Katelyn and many other Morningside students were transferred to William Beanes Elementary School in Suitland, which is about a seven-minute drive from Call's house but more than a 40-minute walk across several major roads with no sidewalks.

As a result, Call, 47, has been able to visit her daughter at William Beanes, where Katelyn now attends sixth grade, only a few times this school year.

"It's so different this year," Call said. "I don't like it at all."

Almost a year after the school closed, Morningside parents such as Call are eager to have the school reopened as an Imagine Schools contract school, which Imagine staff members say would offer smaller class sizes and guarantee spots for students who live in the town.

But supporters are growing concerned that unless the Prince George's County Board of Education acts soon -- board members have twice delayed a vote on the proposal -- Imagine will not have time to prepare for Morningside students to return in the fall.

Imagine, a nonprofit organization that runs two charter schools in the county, responded to school officials' request for proposals to reopen the building with a plan for a 330-student, kindergarten-through-eighth grade contract school with single-gender classes.

Since the plan was introduced at a Jan. 7 meeting at the recommendation of Superintendent William Hite Jr., board members have not voted on the partnership at two subsequent meetings.

Contract schools and charter schools are not operated by the county school system but receive funding from the system on a per-student basis. The system typically allocates $8,899 per student for charter schools, according to county schools spokesman Darrell Pressley.

Board members must approve proposals for contract and charter schools. Contract schools work more closely with the school system to develop the school's model, whereas charter schools tend to develop ideas independently and bring them to the board for consideration.

School board member Linda Thomas (Dist. 4) said she hopes the board will vote in April.

If the proposal is not approved by then, it is unlikely Imagine officials will have time to hire teachers, make physical improvements and take other steps to have the school ready by the fall, Imagine Regional Director Patrick Crain said.