Overdevelopment leads to overcrowded schools

From the Queens Chronicle:

Parents expecting a vote Tuesday night on a plan to redistrict PS 49 in Middle Village got a one-month reprieve at the Community Education Council 24 meeting.

And some parents intend to use that month to find some way — any way — to keep their school’s boundaries as they are.

City education officials contend that PS 49 already is at 132 percent of its designed capacity, with 1,060 students in a school designed for 802.

Parents acknowledged that PS 49 is overcrowded, but said PS 58 and PS 87 also are at 98 and 99 percent capacity, respectively.

“I’m not sure of the Department of Education’s numbers,” said Alevina Tripoli, principal of PS 58, whose rolls would increase by only 11 under city figures.

“We already are at capacity,” she said. “If you increase my district by only 12 blocks, with 10 houses on each block, that adds up to 120 houses.”

Added to that, she said are the recent replacement of 15 single-family houses with multifamily dwellings. She also said parochial schools have closed in surrounding districts.

“I have three of those schools, with an average of 210 students per school,” she said. “Just because those schools haven’t closed, it doesn’t mean they won’t.”

Several parents, including Linda Schirling, said the city must help the district clamp down on students who live outside the feeder district, but who gain admission with false documentation.