The parents of Montour High School students are pretty clear on what they want next year, when the high school will be closed for renovation.

Here are the comments from just three of the speakers at last Thursday's school board meeting:

Elaine Cassidy - "Use David E. Williams [Middle School] as the high school."

Lynn Coleman - "Take the high school kids and put them at David E. Williams."

Helen Stamatakis - "The only option I'd be happy with is for the high school to move down to the middle school for a full day of classes."

Acting superintendent Don Boyer said that he's gotten the same message in meetings with parents, and especially in his ongoing lunches with members of next year's senior class.

"The first thing they say is they want to be able to drive to school," he said of the students. "The next thing is that they want to be at David E. Williams."

The logic is pretty clear. The middle school on Porters Hollow Road in Kennedy is relatively new and was renovated less than 10 years ago.

It houses grades five through eight and could presumably house the four high school grades. And it has science labs, an auditorium and a library, making it a significant upgrade for the current high school students.

Dr. Boyer acknowledged all that.

"That is precisely what I've been trying to say all along," he said when a parent asked if it is the one option that can guarantee a full slate of classes for next year's high school students.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean its going to be the option we choose," he added.

In the face of a large crowd of worried parents, Dr. Boyer emphasized repeatedly that the administration is going through a careful process of gathering and assessing possibilities.

"In order to formulate a plan, we need to look at every conceivable option," he said. "We're in an information-gathering phase right now."

He said that includes looking at holding classes outside the district.

"If there's an empty school in, say, Cornell, then someone's going to ask, 'Did you consider that?' " he said. "I want to be able to say yes, we did."

One argument for moving the high school to the middle school is to give next year's seniors a chance to experience a high school that is not a construction zone.

The class of 2011 started as freshmen in '07 - the year demolition work began at the high school. The idea was that they would benefit from some new amenities in their sophomore year, more by junior year and would be in the renovated school as seniors.

But the project stalled when construction bids came in high in the spring of 2008, and the board ended up replacing its construction management team in October and its architect in December. From there, it took 13 months to re-design the project and get state approval.

In January, the board decided to speed up the plan by vacating the high school, which would allow the renovation work to be expedited and finished in one school year instead of two. Construction documents are in the hands of potential bidders now, due back on March 17.

The big concern for parents was that their children get a full slate of academic offerings, wherever classes are held.

"We do not want shortened days, shortened schedules," Ms. Cassidy said. "It may be legal to do it that way, but it doesn't make it right."

Dr. Boyer said he and the board have the same concerns, and are doing all they can to address them. He noted that the high school already has had students choose classes for next year, so they can account for the class requests as they assess options for housing them.

Dr. Boyer said the board would hold a meeting to share the options with the public before the board chooses one later this month.

The dates of those meetings have yet to be determined, however. The regularly scheduled March 25 meeting conflicts with the opening of the middle school musical, and is likely to be rescheduled.

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