Parents expressed their dismay with a recent change at South Whidbey Academy to school leaders Wednesday night.

Upset parents dominated a student-parent meeting to address questions and concerns about the high school program relocating to an unoccupied north wing of South Whidbey High School. The change will take place in September and effects 46 students.

South Whidbey Academy Principal David Pfeiffer, South Whidbey High School Principal John Patton and South Whidbey School District Superintendent Jo Moccia fielded questions from the 47-person crowd in the academy’s gymnasium. School board directors Linda Racicot, Julie Hadden and Shawn Nowlin, along with South Whidbey High School Assistant Principal Paul Lagerstedt were in attendance but did not participate in discussions.

Several parents voiced concerns about the lack of input they were given in the decision while a student said she didn’t want to associate with the high school after experiencing bullying there. Other questions revolved around the letter sent to the affected academy students’ parents Feb. 12 that detailed the history and background of the academy and the rationale behind the decision.

Langley resident Molly MacLeod-Roberts felt the students weren’t a priority in the decision.

“To me, it feels like this decision was made like rearranging furniture in a room,” MacLeod-Roberts said. “Students — that’s what the school district is about and it doesn’t feel like they were the priority.”

Moccia interjected while MacLeod-Roberts was speaking to respond.

“I’m going to stop at this point because they were the priority, the decision was made, your concerns have been heard repeatedly,” Moccia said.

The superintendent said that the meeting wasn’t about questioning why the location change was made, but rather to answer questions about the program itself.

While parents were displeased with the change and made sure their opinions were heard, one student felt the time could have been better spent learning about the program itself.

Kyle Wilson, a sophomore at South Whidbey Academy, has accepted change is coming for the alternative school’s high school program. He came with an open mind to Wednesday night’s meeting.

While Wilson’s questions revolved around the intricacies of the program, parents questioned the reasoning and decision process behind the move.

“I felt sorry that people are so against change,” Wilson said. “I’d rather embrace it than sit there and try and fight all next year and be against it. This a new change and I’m going to have to get used to it.”

The change of location was decided administratively by Moccia. Students will retain amenities of the academy including graduation criteria, a lounge area and the ability to remain separate from the high school. The academy will have three classrooms in the north wing of the school, including a front office.

Pfeiffer and Moccia said the meeting was held in advance to the move in order to address the concerns, though parents felt they should have been involved in the process before the decision was made.

Not all of the parents at the meeting were against the decision. Shannon Ophelan of Greenbank has a daughter in the seventh grade and liked that she would have the opportunity to traverse between the schools from a social aspect.

“She’s been bullied, she’s been picked on since sixth grade in this program, and this program is not the shining example of the best way,” Ophelan said. “My perspective is that if she was in eighth grade now, going into high school next year, this would be the holy grail. She would be able to have this great group and then she would be able to get away from that group. That’s just fantastic, I think that’s a great decision.”

A high school teacher at the academy, Leah Tormey, also sounded off in support of the change. She felt the infrastructure would be improved because the school will have a principal and assistant principal, as well as multiple counselors, which the academy does not have.

Students and parents were unsettled about the potential overlap between the two schools, which they were worried would lead to unwanted interactions. Pfeiffer reiterated that the change would not force integration between the schools. Tisa Seely, who has a son in the eighth-grade, also took issue with one of the positives touted in the letter, which stated that 16 of the 46 students high schoolers at the academy commute between the two schools. She asked how many of the students were from the academy and how many were from the high school. Pfeiffer said he did not know the answer at the time.

In an email between parents, administrators and board members, Moccia clarified the detail by saying 10 students at the academy and six students at the high school commute between the schools for classes. 

Sophomore Celeste Hernandez said some of her classmates will not attend school in the district when the change becomes reality in the fall. Pfeiffer responded by saying students made similar claims when the district moved and reformed the Bayview School alternative program into the South Whidbey Academy in 2012.

Sophomore Livia Lomné-Licastro felt there was a shared anxiety among students that the academy will receive an influx of new students because of the reduced credit requirement to graduate — 24 — as compared to the high school’s 30. Pfeiffer noted Lomné-Licastro’s comment by jotting it down on paper.

Lomné-Licastro shared similar sentiments on the matter as Wilson, though she noted that communication from the district could have been better.

“I think the meeting went as well as could be expected because there was a lot of miscommunication,” she said. “The miscommunication kind of breeds distrust no matter the institution. I think there were definitely some fumbles in the communication that went on but I hope that it will be a positive change and I hope that the students can get heard.”

Around seven students were present at the meeting, half of which were in the 9-12 program while the others were eighth graders, Wilson and Lomné-Licastro said. Lomné-Licastro, while open-minded to the change like Wilson, said during the meeting that the change felt abrupt.

One parent asked if there was financial motivation behind the location change. Moccia responded by saying that it wasn’t, and added later the district will have less money after the wing’s current tenant, Skagit Valley College, moves out in June. The college has occupied the north wing since December and will pay the district a total of $13,440 for usage of the space.

Patton said the next step will be to dialogue with students about their wishes, concerns and questions. He also plans to hold open houses in August, as well as parent-student meetings.