Troubled by Sparta school construction

I am deeply concerned about the possibility of a tear-down/rebuild of the high school while the students are using the building. For those of us with children in the high school, the conditions they must endure during construction are troubling. The chaotic disruption to their learning is an unacceptable price to pay for Sparta’s unabated residential development at the most critical time of their educations—preparation for college. Containment of dust from asbestos and lead paint during demolition could add complications. The Board of Education’s argument that “the curriculum cannot be expanded to offer courses that students may need in order to be more competitive in college” is irrelevant. From the Class of 2006, just a few universities to which “our children [who] need to keep up” are headed to include Brown University, MIT, Princeton, Cornell, and Emory University. Those desiring to be “more competitive…in the workforce” can take classes at Sussex Tech through the “Technical Education: Shared Time” program. I have not touched upon what many will consider the other main issues, namely increased property taxes and continued overcrowding at the elementary level. Additionally, grouping the passage of two proposals was particularly unfair. Susan L. MacDonald Sparta High School Class of 1977