"Teacher asks board to keep focus global: Educator advocates for older schools in light of new school opening" - Examiner, 8/23/07

MILLSTONE - Pearson said she has been attending board meetings for the past year and a half, asking questions about the playground.

"It's now August," she said. "The trailers are still there. Do you have a date or a timeline?"

[Superintendent of Schools] Donahue said she did not have an exact schedule for the removal of the trailers. She also said that the playground equipment, ordered in May, has not yet been delivered.

At that point, Pearson made a statement about the board's lack of focus on the older schools.

"The board should think about what needs to be done," she said, citing the need for updated lighting as one example.

She continued, "All children deserve a state-of-the-art school."

Pearson told the board that third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students are sorely lacking in some of the things that the new middle school will offer. She added that she has not seen any real renovations done to the older schools.

"The board needs to look at making this a place where we all want to be," she said.