Traffic snarls pondered during joint meeting

Town Council and School Board meet to discuss issues of
common interest
by NATHAN WRIGHT – Staff Writer
The Windsor School Board and the Town Council met last Tuesday
for a joint workshop that addressed issues of importance to both
groups, including transportation, traffic issues, the proposed
public swimming pool and the school budget.
“This is a meeting we’ve wanted to do for quite a while,” said
Mayor Steve Scott. After introductions were made and an explanation
of the workshop was issued, the school board settled into an
informal discussion process open to both elected officials and
visitors.
The workshop’s first agenda item was transportation, traffic
issues and configuration, a topic that led to more than an hour of
discussion on topics ranging from the possibility of the
realignment of schools, bus routes, child safety and walking
programs for students.
“We’re always trying to address those issues and do whatever we
can to alleviate those issues,” said Scott, addressing the traffic
concerns. Since the WUSD uses grade specific schools instead of
neighborhood schools, many parents with more than one child drive
their children to multiple schools, clogging Windsor traffic
arteries twice a day. Seche and the school board acknowledged the
problem, and stated that a school reconfiguration will have to be
discussed soon.
“We’re definitely going to go with a new configuration,” said
Seche. “What that is, we do not know.” While many would like to see
Windsor go with neighborhood schools, middle school and high school
students would still have to commute to Windsor Middle School and
Windsor High School, continuing the traffic strain.
Town Councilmember Lynn Morehouse took the opportunity to
express support for a school reconfiguration. “It’s been a huge
issue when I’ve been campaigning,” she said, saying that few in her
district support the current configuration. “The schools are having
problems getting volunteers because parents will only have kids at
the school for a short time before they move on.”
The busing system was also discussed, a program that’s been hit
hard by budget cuts in the past and is scheduled for another large
cut next year. “With the neighborhood schools, there would be less
need for buses,” Scott said.
One of the Windsor town council’s most popular proposed projects
is a public swimming pool, and the council discussed what role the
school district might play in its development. “It would be nice to
have the swimming pool in a location that could be taken advantage
of by the school system,” said Scott, suggesting that the pool
could be placed near the high school to provide both school
functions and event parking during times when school is not in
session. “I don’t think it would be a stretch at all,” said WUSD
Superintendent Robert Carter.
The town council also considered what would happen if the
district was forced to cut swimming programs, which would take
money away from the pool. “So we shouldn’t count on you as a
revenue source,” concluded Morehouse.
The joint workshop also addressed the district’s proposed $1.5
million of budget cuts, explaining to the town council that while
the plan was necessary, they’re still hoping Governor Gray Davis
and the state of California decide to find cuts elsewhere.
“We don’t know how deep we’ll have to go,” said Carter. “We’re
not sure the $1.5 is the worst case scenario. This is a huge
concern for us.”
The school board and the town council also discussed the
possibility of participating in workshops, or creating
sub-committees that would consist of members from both entities
that would meet on a regular basis. “I’m really pleased with the
cooperation I’ve seen here today,” said Seche.