By Alex Davidson
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools Chancellor Joel Klein said Queens will get an additional 9,899 classroom seats by September because of the opening of borough schools and the building of additions to existing sites.
The duo also said Queens will get a portion of the 5,000 new seats created citywide through the conversion of school district offices, which will stop operating June 30 when New York state law abolishes community school boards, into classrooms.
“For the first time, form will follow function in our school system. Our reorganization will provide unprecedented support for the instructional mission of our schools,” Klein said.
The plan means District 24, the most overcrowded school district in Queens, will get 2,639 more classroom seats, with 704 seats at the new PS 239 in Ridgewood, 615 seats from an addition at IS 5 in Elmhurst, 660 seats from an addition at IS 61 in Corona and 660 seats from an addition at IS 77 in Ridgewood.
District 26 will have 760 more seats with the new PS 266 on the Creedmoor campus in Glen Oaks and a portion of the 1,182 new seats at the High School of Teaching Professionals, also in Glen Oaks.
Approximately 897 seats for District 28 will be added at the new High School for Law and Public Safety in South Jamaica.
District 29 will have 2,333 new seats, with 704 seats at the new PS 270 in Rosedale, 704 seats at PS 268 in Jamaica and 925 seats at PS/IS 208 in Glen Oaks. The district will also share a portion of the new seats created at the High School for Law and Public Safety.
District 30 will get 2,088 new classroom seats, with 901 seats at the new PS 234 in Astoria, 350 seats from a new lease at the International Baccalaureate High School in Long Island City and 837 seats from a new lease at the High School for Information Technology in Long Island City.
Overall, Klein said 15,000 new seats will be created citywide through construction projects with an additional 5,000 coming through the conversions. He said by September 2004, 8,000 more classroom seats will be created, 3,000 through conversion and 5,000 through construction.
Bloomberg and Klein also announced where the 10 new Learning Support Centers would be established, four of which will be in Queens.
The new centers, which will also be housed in the old district administrative buildings, will contain Parent Support Offices offering registration, information and other services, Klein said. Some will also house new regional service centers that city officials say will handle the paperwork and logistics of running community schools.
He said each regional superintendent will also have a permanent desk in the new offices.
The locations for the new sites will be:
Division 3, including Districts 25, 26, 28 and 29, 30-48 Linden Place in Flushing and 90-27 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica; Division 4, including Districts 24 and 30, 28-11 Queens Plaza North in Long Island City; Division 5, including District 27, 82-01 Rockaway Blvd. in Ozone Park.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
