Demand a better BUILDING plan for new thurston
Reject the District's plan to teach kids next to a construction site for 3-4 years while destroying most of the green spaces!
We Tried.
For an equitable plan that didn't excessively and unnecessarily harm the most vulnerable students in our community.
For a future site that preserved what was outstanding about Thurston currently, and what drew people to the school even as enrollment city-wide was falling.
For the preservation of the latest generation's additions to the the oldest-operating environmental education nature center in the country, a volunteer-run & maintained place for our students to experience nature in the birthplace of environmental education.
For the idea that community engagement matters, that teachers' values matter, and that public service means serving the public.
But we lost.
We stood up. We presented our case, the impacts on the community including neurodivergent kids who's families are attracted to Thurston specifically because of the surrounding environment and educational support and the impacts on recess space that have been unconscionably misconstrued by AAPS. We did this based on the support of:
- our Thurston teachers (PLEASE read their statements, linked to in the header of this site!),
- the professional advice of our neurodivergent kids' therapists
And a vast depth of experience within our community that does not have a financial motivation to bias results in any particular way including:
- Construction hygienists experienced in the mitigation of unsafe environments created by construction,
- Forensic engineers experienced in diagnosing the causes and financial implications of flooding issues
- Other engineers with experience regarding construction project management, safety protocols in industrialized settings, and sound propagation
- Our personal judgement as parents of neurodivergent and susceptible kids,
- Our personal judgement as decades-experienced stewards of a nationally recognized and supported place for environmental learning, engagement and education.
On Tuesday, Feb 25th 2025, following a statement by group of parents that want the new school regardless of the consequences, including the Thurston PTO president and other executive board members despite the Thurston PTO pledge to remain neutral on this topic after conflicts over sharing information, we were FINALLY allowed to present our case publicly to the board of education.
We were time-checked at the half-hour allotment, despite the interest of most of the BoE with the presentation, and Trustees Baskett and Schmidt argued and voted to not allow more time for our presentation and engagement with a community that did not agree with them.
After our presentation, there was a presentation from the capital programs team and all of the contractors beholden to them on the current plan. This included a period of introductions that lasted almost as long as our entire presentation which they begrudgingly gave us the time for, Following that was a 2 hour session that was in some parts informative, in some parts insulting, in which they presented vastly inflated cost estimates for a staging plan, and insufficient justifications for why the site would not change from their current plans even with staging. While we appreciate the engagement from the professionals involved in the construction of our schools, there was clearly either a manifest urge to pad their wallets with the cost estimates, or what's known colloquially as a "fuck you" budget in which expenses and additional compensation are exaggerated to make the option seem less appealing.
The following day after some further discussion, the board voted 4 to 3 to shoehorn a new Thurston school onto the property 30 feet from the current school, against the objections of all those listed above. Trustees Baskett, Schmidt, Feaster and Wilks voted for the plan, while Trustees Wilkinson, Mohammad and Wilkens voted against. Remember this outcome, all of these people are subject to your vote in coming years.
So here we are, with a n inequitable plan being put into action disregarded suggestions to fix it and the liability of it on our backs. This leaves a lot of people (over 1000, based on our petition) wondering what to do next...
What is wrong with the AAPS District's Plan for Thurston?
No Space During Construction
From the moment construction begins, much of the current grounds will be completely unavailable to the Thurston community for recess, soccer, and recreation. For the next 2 years in the current school, recess will be squeezed into a tiny footprint filled with temporary play structures. For the following year or 2, classes will be in the new building, but most of the play space will still be restricted as the geothermal system is installed and grounds are re-finished, which took 2+ years at Clague despite being planned for just 6 months. The current plan substantially restricts play and recess space for this duration and leads to a host of negative circumstances for the students and teachers.
Poor Learning Environment
For 3-4 years, children will be expected to learn and teachers to teach with the distraction, noise, and debris of construction less than the length of a school bus away. Roughly half of the classrooms face the construction site from the current school, where distraction will be ever-present. Construction fencing and the promise of doing the heaviest work when school is not in session will help, but the first year of this will still be very intrusive as the exterior of the new building is constructed. Similarly, the period of geothermal installation can also be pretty disruptive as scores of 100+ foot holes are drilled in what will become the field.
The whole process of construction and geothermal installation can be very interesting and serve as a great learning experience in the context of a field trip, but having to learn and teach through it all day, every day is a different story. Construction will last for the majority of the time that a new student would be attending Thurston!
Compromised Future Facilities
It’s important that we protect what is best about the Thurston site for future generations. This includes the preservation of the expansive green spaces, access to nature, and child centered playgrounds. Although the AAPS Capital and Bond teams have worked with the Thurston Nature Center and community feedback to vastly improve the site plan over what was shown initially in September, the result is still compromised by having to build the new school while the current building is occupied. The result is much less space for daily lunch recess of >500 children away from car infrastructure. which is currently used for special school events such as the annual Field Day, Fall Carnival, and International Night as well as enjoyed by the wider NE Ann Arbor community.
Where to go from here?
Explore a better plan
The current plan would force our kids to learn and teachers to teach next to an active construction site for 3-4 years, permanently remove playgrounds and much of the recess space and fields, and squeeze the one remaining field between a driveline and a parking lot. There's a better way, and we found it.
Get the full story
It all started way back in 2019 when Ann Arbor voters approved a record-setting bond for $1 Billion to improve Ann Arbor pubic schools. But then COVID hit, the district discovered a $25M budget shortfall, a builder was brought in under the radar, and things started getting really interesting...
Hear from our community
Read testimonials and notes from other parents and community members.
See... everything
As a group, we believe in full transparency. In this section you can see emails, social media posts, news articles, videos, and documents as we are able to access them.
About Let Thurston Play
Who are we?
What do we want?
What do we want?
We are group of Thurston parents, school staff, and neighbors who are opposed to the current construction plans for a new Thurston Elementary. We are in favor of a new school building, but believe that the current construction plans are poorly conceived and not reflective of the unique considerations and features of the Thurston site and community.
What do we want?
What do we want?
What do we want?
We demand that the AAPS Board of Education re-evaluate the plan for Thurston and consider alternative options that balance both short- and long-term priorities, while upholding their commitment to community engagement and environmental stewardship.
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Sign the petition
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