Willow Glen Elementary School parent Bob Mulvany is one of those parents. He has been vocal about the way Measure F funds should be spent at Willow Glen Elementary. He has diligently attended district board meetings and Measure F Citizens Bond Oversight Committee meetings to express his concerns. At the most recent bond-oversight meeting, he delivered a speech venting his frustration with the district for not placing the construction of a two-story permanent classroom structure higher up on the schedule of campus renovations. The classrooms will not be built until 2009.

Mulvany and other parents at the elementary school say that waiting until 2009 for new classrooms is too long for several reasons: The multipurpose area scheduled to be built in 2006, which will include a newly constructed stage, will replace the pod-style learning area, leaving the students without classroom space. The other concern is that the cafeteria, which currently doubles as the school's multipurpose space, is too small.

The parents want the district to construct the two-story classroom building during the same time period that the pod-style classrooms are transformed, or for three years—2006 to 2009—the school will have to come up with a creative solution for classrooms.

Mulvany echoes the voices of other Willow Glen Elementary parents when he says these two events are not in the right sequence, and Director of School Construction Ty Williams and Associate Superintendent Jerry Matranga have reaffirmed this fact. Yet even with the district acknowledging the problem, Mulvany still isn't sure how the situation can be rectified.

"We are in a unique situation," Mulvany says. "We have a smaller footprint and we can't fit in more classrooms easily, or we will lose play area for the kids."

And, Mulvany believes, enhancing the multipurpose area could be a big benefit for not only the school, but also the Willow Glen community.

"Kiwanis puts on Music in the Park in the summer on the field behind the school, but with a nice multipurpose area, we could also do music programs inside the building during the winter. We could all have a meeting place and reach out more to the community."

Willow Glen Elementary School PTA president Andrea Wheeler also wants to make sure the school's priorities make sense and hopes the multipurpose room and two-story structure will be built simultaneously.

She says the district, particularly Williams and Matranga, have been open and understanding about the school's building concerns, and she realizes that it is a balancing act for the district when trying to make every school and parent happy. But she is still worried that the school's needed improvements could be lost in the shuffle.

"Our concern is that after the vote by the school board to approve the Implementation Plan goes through, we know changes could still be made, but that it will be a lot harder," Wheeler says.

Williams understands Wheeler and Mulvany's concerns and says that although building the two-story classrooms fits into the current bond cash flow for 2009, it is being reviewed and building plans haven't been finalized yet.

"We realize this is a jump in logic," Williams says. "There is a certain sequence that is appropriate, and the plan needs to be cleaned up a little."

The school district is going through a lot of issues right now, he adds, and is taking into account what is the best for each school in the district.

Willow Glen Elementary School Principal Dayle D'Anna says she is thrilled that the district is considering the construction of a two-story building on the campus. Originally, the school wasn't even slated for a new building, she says.

But she would also like it sooner than later.

"From talking to people in the district office, I know there is still some flexibility in the whole plan, and I feel good about everything since we are still discussing it."

Board members will vote on the revised Implementation Plan at the Oct. 16 meeting. The board meets at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom at the San Jose Unified School District office, 855 Lenzen Avenue.

For more information about Measure F proposed projects at Willow Glen Elementary School, visit http://www.sjusd.k12.ca.us/BondsConstruction/Measure F/bond project.htm#willowglenelementary.