The proposed relocation of Clinton School for Artists and Writers into the American Sign Language and Dual Language Secondary Schoolbuilding will not be voted on by the Panel for Educational Policy at its monthly meeting on May 18, as originally scheduled.  

In an email obtained by Insideschools that was circulated late today, Clinton parents were told the following:     

PEP will NOT be voting on proposal to move Clinton to ASL tomorrow night (May 18th).  The DOE's Office of Portfolio Planning is exploring the possibility of leasing St. Michael's on W. 33rd (a recently closed Catholic Girl's  High School). The next PEP vote will take place on June 22nd. There are details to work out, but from the information currently available, the vote on June 22nd will be to either move Clinton to St. Michael's (if the lease can be worked out with the Arch Diocese) or to move Clinton to ASL. Revised EIS will be in the works.

Tamara Rowe, a parent at Clinton and member of its School Leadership Team alerted Insideschools.org to the last minute change of plans in a comment to an earlier post. "We just found out this afternoon and were caught completely off guard," Rowe told Insideschools.org. "We had begun to think that no one with any influence was listening to our concerns and alternative solutions."

The New York Times reported that moving Clinton into the American Sign Language building could be placed back on the PEP agenda for June if an alternative is not found.   

According to Rowe, if the lease at St. Michael's falls through, Clinton parents will advocate to remain at their longtime home, PS 11, for an additional year or "search for other less harmful alternatives."