Jackson Elementary School third-graders Bailey Cornett, left, and Evelyn Rodriguez play tetherball during Thursday's afternoon recess. Jackson would be closed and students shifted to five other schools under a proposal by the Medford School District’s facilities planning committee. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell)

Children have attended classes at Jackson Elementary School on Medford's west side for 95 years.

On Tuesday, a Medford School District facilities planning committee will propose closing the school at 630 W. Jackson St. before its 100th birthday and distributing its 350 pupils among five other schools as part of a recommendation for a possible bond referendum in November.

News of the proposal stunned employees at Jackson Elementary, as the committee had not included closure of the school among the three bond options under consideration.

"It's a shock because we thought Jackson would be fixed up or rebuilt," said Principal Tom Ettel.

"We want to support what's best for the kids, but it's like if your house was condemned, and you had to split up the family."

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The options the committee presented at 19 public forums in March and April called for either repairing and upgrading Jackson Elementary or constructing a new building to replace it.

In its most ambitious option at a cost of $222.4 million, the committee had looked at replacing North and South Medford high schools and Jackson, Lone Pine and Roosevelt elementary schools; transforming South Medford into a middle school; and repairing and upgrading 13 other campuses. The least expensive option, at $99.5 million, included basic repairs and upgrades to all 18 campuses in the district.

The recommendation the committee will make to the School Board Tuesday costs $189.2 million and includes replacing only South Medford and Lone Pine. It also calls for overhauling North Medford and Oak Grove Elementary and remodeling Roosevelt, where parents have staunchly opposed replacing the historic neighborhood school at 112 Lindley St. in east Medford.

Under the proposal, the existing South Medford campus would be reconfigured into a third middle school, allowing the district to move sixth grades from elementary to middle schools.

The committee also will propose repairing and upgrading 12 other campuses.

"It's really about efficiency," said Bob Hartwig, student services coordinator and district liaison to the committee. "We needed to close one school."

Committee members said they chose Jackson Elementary because of the poor condition of the structure, relatively low enrollment and its location abutting five elementary schools to which students could be distributed.

If the proposal moves forward, students from Jackson would attend Jefferson, Oak Grove, Roosevelt, Washington and Wilson elementary schools. Oak Grove, Roosevelt and Washington would receive more classrooms under the proposal to accommodate additional students.

Like Jackson Elementary, the majority of students at the five feeder schools come from low-income families.

Teachers at Jackson would be reassigned.

The committee will recommend using Jackson for students displaced from Roosevelt and possibly other schools during construction.

After that, the committee will propose turning Jackson into a community center.

Jackson staff members learned about the proposal Wednesday.

Megan Muro, a first-grade bilingual teacher at Jackson, said she worries what will happen to the school's close-knit Spanish-speaking community if Jackson closes.

The school has one of the largest Latino populations of any campus in the district.

"We see parents every single day because we are a walking school," Muro said. "If the students have to move, I have the feeling we won't see parents as often."

The school board is expected to consider the committee's recommendation for about a month before deciding on a bond referendum for November.

Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4459 or e-mail pachen@mailtribune.com.