Residents of the South 40 may no longer see children walking to school on Wydown Boulevard.

Last year, the Clayton school district board approached Washington University about the opportunity to purchase Wydown Middle School, the Maryland School and the Bracken Building.

The University is now considering the offer to purchase these buildings, and in exchange, Clayton would receive the former Christian Brothers College High School property that the University owns, in addition to a substantial financial compensation.

The Clayton district no longer uses the Maryland School and the Bracken Building.

Discussions about the proposed deal between Clayton and the University will not occur until April of next year, but the potential purchase has generated heated discussion.

According to Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration Hank Webber, the school district believed that a new school building would meet the needs of their students better than a renovated Wydown Middle School would.

“There are very few large parcels available in Clayton,” Webber said.

The Clayton school board is also aware of the controversy that the offer raises.

“We’ve heard from people who have been very upset and very hesitant about what it might mean, and from those who are supportive,” said Chris Tennill, director of communications for the Clayton school board. “With both sides of the coin out there it really underscores the importance to take some time to listen to the community and make the best decision for those involved.”

Both the University and the school district are planning to engage the Clayton community in this decision. This April there will be an evaluative process in which parents, school staff and patrons can provide input and feedback for both organizations.

In the past, the University has worked with Wydown Middle School. For instance, the University Campus YMCA offers a program in which University students serve as mentors for middle school students from Clayton.

The former Christian Brothers College High School property, which the Clayton school district would acquire in exchange for Wydown Middle School, is about 8.4 acres; Wydown Middle School is about 4.7 acres.

“The University is not in a position to give up an 8-acre site without being able to utilize some other properties,” Webber said. “We clearly look at the value to the University of the various real estate parcels available. We also look at the long-term value to the University, and that includes what we might be able to build over the long term.”

The University has not yet determined how Wydown and the other properties will be used. There have been a variety of proposals on what is to happen on these sites, many of which will be determined by public forums.

A larger financial decision was to purchase the former Christian Brothers College High School, worth approximately $22 million in 2001.

Neighbors of the school are concerned about the purchase.

“There are inevitably moments of tension but there are also opportunities for win-wins here are that considerable,” Webber said.

In difficult economic times when large schools such as Washington University are reducing spending, raising student tuition and halting the construction of new buildings, the acquisition of land seems dubious to some. Webber, however, expressed optimism about the University’s decision.

“I view this as a long-term issue, not a short-term thing,” he said. “And hopefully all of the University’s considerable financial constraints are short term.”

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Tags: Wydown Middle School

This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 9:38 pm and is filed under Administration, News, Regional News. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.