Groups Seek Alternative Site for Powell School Relocation

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Proposal for relocation at Rainbow Beach Park Opposedby Lesley R. Chinn

Having a school sit right off the lakemay be a good idea to some people, butmembers of Friends of the Parks and theSouth Shore Community Organizationhave other ideas for relocating PowellElementary School. The two groupsoppose moving Powell across the streetto the north end of Rainbow Beach Park.Right now, the school is located on 7530S. South Shore Drive.

Last Friday, members of both groupstoured the area to seek alternative sites.However, its the current site thatimpressed them most. Instead of relocatingthe school, the groups see room forexpansion and using the current spacemore efficiently.

Erma Traintor, president of Friends ofthe Parks, pointed out that the land on theSouth side of Powell School, where thetwo trailers are located on the current siteare not being used at all. Friends of theParks is a membership organization thatworks to protect, preserve and improvepark and beach properties. All of thatland is available if an addition (is needed),she said.

About five years ago, a similar situationerupted on the North side where residentsopposed a school being built in WarrenPark. We researched the land and foundthat the land couldnt be transferred for aschool because the state had given thepark district the land, Traintor recalled.

Park land, especially in the Black community,is being threatened and this latestissue seems to be part of a trend said,Aarafa Payne, a co-facilitator of theSouth Shore Community Organization.Building a school on the lakefront inLincoln Park would neverhappen in Lincoln Park, sheadded.

In addition, Traintor saidbuilding a school on the lakefrontwould violate the cityslakefront protection ordinance.The ordinance, adopted in1973, mandates that the Cityof Chicago create parks alongthe entire Lakefront. This lakefrontbelongs to everybody to use for healthand fitness. The community of SouthShore and even further south as SoutheastChicago are very park poor. They donthave enough space for recreation,Traintor said. Park land should never begiven to the board of education. Schoolsshould be built when they are needed.The board of education needs to find theappropriate land, do good planning andbuild a school on the land they acquireand not look to the park district to (get)it.

Dr. Akilah Martin, also a member of theSouth Shore Community Organization,agreed. She said new property shouldntbe taken away when there is existingproperty that could be used for expansion.

Citing safety concerns such as drowningand crossing a busy intersection, Paynesaid that Rainbow Beach is the only realaccess to park space for the South Shorearea and a school built at Rainbow BeachPark, would only reduce opportunities forrecreation. Our issue is dont take ourpark space away for a school. We love aschool. Our property taxes may go upand were ok with that, but were not okwith putting a school in the scarce parkspace that we have, Paynesaid.

In response to both groupsconcerns, an official from 7thWard Ald. Sandi Jacksonsoffice who spoke on the conditionof anonymity said thealternative site that the groupsrequest have been reviewed.The official stated that the currentsite would not be the best alternativebecause it would involve tearing downthe school in order to rebuild it and temporarilydisplacing the students. The officialalso said that Rainbow Beach Park isa much better location because the spaceallotted would accommodate more than900 students.

CPS spokesman Frank Shuftan saidconstruction for the new school is projectedto start in the Spring of 2009,adding that it will be ready for studentenrollment in the Fall of 2010. Shuftansaid the announcement of construction ofthe new Powell School was made as partof the Modern Schools Across Chicagoprogram in June 2006. The new schoolwill follow a prototype design on 2.43acres of land, offering about 106,000square feet to 900 students from prekindergartento 8th grade, he said. As part of this project, the Chicago ParkDistrict will receive approximately twoacres of land in return for the approximateone acre to be used in the development ofPowell School. The land the park districtwill get is farther south in RainbowBeach Park, according to Shuftan, whosaid the plan is scheduled to go beforevarious city agencies sometime thismonth.

The aldermans official said theschool would be relocated closest tothe street and not the lakefront. Shesaid the same concerns about safetyat the current location would be similarat the proposed site. Afence separatingthe school land from thelakefront property would be erectedand there would be crossing guardsonsite to help patrol traffic duringschool hours, she added.

Calls were made to Powell Schoolsprincipal Derek Jordan, but he hadno comment about the relocationprocess.

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