WESTMINSTER : Midway Decision Expected Tonight

The Westminster School District Board of Trustees is expected to decide tonight on a plan to shut down aging Midway City School and reopen Dr. Jessie Hayden School, a nearby facility that is in better condition.

District administrators have recommended the closure and sale of Midway City School, at 8521 Hazard Ave., because it would be $1.5 million more costly to renovate than Hayden. Midway City was built in 1950 and would require major renovation to keep it usable. Hayden was built in 1961.

However, many parents have criticized the proposed sale of property as unwise and shortsighted and said that if the district had taken better care of the Midway City site, it wouldn’t cost so much to repair now.

At a boisterous and sometimes bitter public hearing last week, more than 300 angry residents denounced the proposal. Members of one group called Parents Against Mismanaged Schools alleged that board members had already made up their minds to approve it, a charge several board members vigorously denied. The group threatened legal action to stop the sale if the board approves the plan tonight.

Supt. Gail Wickstrom has recommended that the district modernize Hayden at a cost of $1.3 million and reopen it while closing Midway City in June of 1993 and declaring it excess property.

The sale of the property would bring in an expected $3 million.

The board is expected to make its decision on the plan at its regular meeting, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. The district board room is at 14121 Cedarwood Ave.