BALLWIN, Mo. – Parents, students, and residents attended Parkway School District’s Board of Education meeting Wednesday to voice concerns about the upcoming early childhood center and how it can affect traffic and student safety.
Parkway School District says an early childhood center is needed to accommodate the long waitlist of families in need.
“I’ve been here for almost 10 years, so we’ve had waiting lists that have been between 250-360 families every year…it’s heartbreaking to have to turn families away,” Dr. Elena Amirault, early learning director, said. “We want to make sure we are able to provide high-quality learning opportunities for all the families that want to make sure their kids have a strong foundation for school.”
However, residents said there is already an overload of traffic on the road and the school will lose the only open field they have for children to enjoy outdoor activities.
“There’s so much traffic. We have a lot more walkers and (bike) riders. They’re on the streets…the traffic is moving. It’s just much more susceptible to a child being hit,” resident Rita Fitzjarrell said.
The district said they hired an independent contractor to conduct a study of the need for an early childhood center.
“We did a thorough examination of the census data, where we had 0–3-year-olds born coming up over the next 10years,” Dr. Amirault said. “The area that showed greatest need was in 63021, that there were the least amount of child care providers.”
Parkway’s Board of Education will hold a meeting specifically geared toward the development of the center on March 26. School representatives said they want to work with the community on creating a solution.
