It's Official: New Primary School Approved

P.S. 267, a new primary school that will be initially housed in the P.S. 158 building, was officially approved by the Panel for Education Policy March 23. The plan calls for a kindergarten of 60 to 75 students in the new school, which will eventually move to the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (MEETH) building, on East 63rd Street. P.S 59 is currently occupying that space while construction on its new building is completed, hopefully by fall 2012. Although that project is delayed, elected officials and parents felt it was better to start a new school that will eventually have its own space, rather than turn P.S. 158, on York Avenue between East 77th and 78th streets, into a â??mega school with more than 1,000 students. Even with further construction delays, P.S. 267 could spend up to five years in P.S. 158"s space without creating a space crunch, according to a December 2009 letter sent to District 2's Community Education Council from Assembly Member Micah Kellner, Borough President Scott Stringer and Council Member Jessica Lappin. When P.S. 267 is fully populated, it will accommodate between 350 and 450 elementary students, officials said. That should do something to ease the East Side crowding problem that seems to worsen with each year. [As Our Town reported], Department of Education representative Elizabeth Rose told Community Board 8 March 22 that even with the addition of P.S. 267 and other adjustments, there may still be some families who don"t have a seat in their neighborhood school this fall. [The New York Times reported](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/nyregion/24waiting.html?scp=1&sq=p.s.%20290&st=cse) March 23 that at P.S. 290, 91 students are on the wait list, nearly as many as the school admitted, and at P.S.183 and P.S. 6, more than 50 students are waitlisted. On the Upper West Side, wait lists were also long at P.S. 87 (111 students) and P.S. 199 (47 students). The department expects those numbers to dwindle once families accept placements at private schools and gifted programs, but that won"t happen until June. Parents, [let us know what you"re hearing](mailto:ceichna@manhattanmedia.com?subject=crowding) from education officials so we can keep readers posted on the department"s response to the crowding crunch.