TRR photo by Chris Conroy Megan Gorzynski addresses the Sullivan West board of education. Reading from a prepared statement, Gorzynski was one of more than a dozen Sullivan West/Narrowsburg students at the meeting who oppose the proposal to move high school classes to the Jeffersonville-Youngsville cmpus next year. (Click for larger image)

A community reacts

By CHRIS CONROY

DELAWARE VALLEY - The question of where Sullivan West/ Narrowsburg students will attend high school next year remains undecided as over 100 people turned out to the October 19 board meeting to hear pros and cons of a proposal to move students to the Jeffersonville-Youngsville (JY) building.

Building renovation plans on the three existing schools in the merged district are scheduled to run simultaneously with construction of the new high school. Originally, said Sullivan West Superintendent of Schools Michael Johndrow, the bulk of the renovations were to take place over this summer and next, with only minor disruptions during the school year. A short time ago, he said, that changed.

"When this whole thing hit about five weeks ago," said Johndrow, "we thought we could do it just by freeing up two classrooms. Then the contractors came to us." The contractors indicated that in order to get the project completed working only summer months, the cost of the project would increase to the point where another public referendum would have to be held to increase the already approved $49 million budget, Johndrow said.

A proposal is on the table to relocate Narrowsburg students, grades nine through 12, to the JY campus, leaving elementary and middle school students in the Narrowsburg building. Many students and parents in Narrowsburg voiced their protest of the proposed move.

"We don't want to go to Jeff..."