Some parents of students attending Woodrow Wilson School have raised concerns about the city and school board’s decision to move the uptown branch of the city’s public library onto school property.
“The library is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007,” said Lorrie Byers, a parent of a student who attends Woodrow Wilson. “Many of us didn’t know it was happening until we saw the notice in the newspaper.”
In a published release to the Bayonne Community News, the city announced that it would be relocating the uptown library from 51st Street and Avenue C – where the city currently rents space – to the new wing of Woodrow Wilson.
Mayor Joseph Doria announced the new library facility would be housed at Woodrow Wilson in a newly added section of the school.
“During school hours, for safety reasons, a secure partition will separate the new school library from the new uptown branch of the public library,” he said.
But this has raised concerns from parents, who feel that members of the public should not be allowed onto school property while students are there.
“The entrance to the library is in the schoolyard,” Byers said. “They have to pass through the schoolyard to the building. That’s not acceptable. Parents aren’t even allowed in the schoolyard and had to stand outside for the Halloween parade. Now we’re going to allow free access to the schoolyard?”
Will barriers help?
While the city initially said barriers would be erected to allow library patrons to make their way to and from the library without interacting with students in the schoolyard, Byers questioned how secure a temporary barrier could be.
In a petition that she and other parents have circulated, Byers noted that there are 181 registered sexual offenders in Jersey City and Bayonne.
“It’s very frustrating,” Byers said. “I have a 6-year-old. I wouldn’t think of dropping him off at a public library unless I was there to make sure he was safe.”
The city and school initially proposed the creation of two separate library facilities within the school, each with its own shelves, computers and other materials, with a partition separating the two during the day. This would be removed after school hours. For security purposes, library personnel would be issued a walkie-talkie to call police or others if needed.
Since the protest started, the city and school district apparently changed the policy.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Patricia McGeehan issued a letter on Feb. 1 saying that the public portion would not be open until 3:30 p.m. on weekdays to ensure the safety of students.
“During the regular school hours, students will use the school portion of the library for classes and other library services,” McGeehan said. “Library patrons from the general public will have access to the library facility after regular hours.”
During the school day, only students, employees of the Board of Education, the Bayonne Public Library and other personnel with official approval will have access to the library facility at Woodrow Wilson.
This, of course, has raised another concern, since the city’s uptown library will change from a full-time public-access library to a part-time facility.
The change of the library location was part of the budget-cutting recommendations made last year to help reduce the cost of the budget.
Councilman Tony Chiappone said he believes it was a good move and that all safety measures have been taken to assure that the children will not interact with adults.
Critics say the city is saving less than $10,000 a year by the move and that even the change of policy doesn’t assure student safety.
“I think they changed the policy because we raised concerns,” Byers said. “But students will still be at Woodrow Wilson in after-hours programs.”
Parents and school officials were scheduled to meet at the Parent Teacher Organization meeting on Feb. 6 to discuss the matter.