The Pontiac school board has approved the first proposal of its Project Reimagine program to reshape the district.

At their April 28 meeting the board voted 5-2 to approve the relocation of the PEACE Academy from their Cottage Street location to the Whitmer Human Resource Center. Trustees Tanisha Miller and Jennifer Dooley voted against the proposal.

The academy, which offers pre-school and before/after school care programs, will have 20 classrooms in the south wing of the building and their own secure entrance.

According to Bill Holcomb, energy and technology specialist for the district, the move will be completed over the summer and classes for the new school year will open in the fall.

“This is doable,” Holcomb told the board. “This is not a very complicated move for us.”

Holcomb said infrastructure and safety issues were the main reasons for the relocation.

PEACE principal Nicole Harris pointed out the safety problems that have occurred at the academy this year.

“We have had four, maybe five, lockdowns just this year where we have been locked down for 45 minutes or longer,” said Harris. “We have had security issues for as long as I have been in the building as a teacher and as the principal and I have been there for 12 years now and they have been getting increasingly excessive every year.”

She also said there have been issues with traffic and playground safety as well.

The move will cost $741,692, with $401,152 paying for new furniture. New playground equipment will also be installed for $150,000.

Miller voted against the proposal because the academy move, along with construction projects for the transportation department and repurposing of the natatorium, was too much work to be completed over the summer.

“For me this is a lot of moving parts in one summer. I would like to see it more spread out so we can focus on one project at a time,” said Miller. “I support all of it, I just feel like it is a lot at one time.”

Dooley voted against the proposal citing financial concerns.

“As I have stated at previous meetings, I will be voting no on all issues of money until we have that true budget that I have requested,” said Dooley. “The check registries, all financial institutions that we bank with.”

There are also discussions about shifting the academy from four days of instruction per week to five days and expanding classroom sizes from 16 to 18 students.

The board had discussed shifting International Technology Academy students in grades 7-12 to Pontiac Middle School and High School.

Instead, students from the technology academy will now merge with students from International Language Academy and all classes will be located at Whitmer.

According to the district, the technology academy is “a specialized school program within the district that emphasizes STEM education and diverse learning experiences, and preparing students to become global citizens.” It serves K-12 students.

The language academy is a dual-language K-5 elementary program within the district.

The combined program will be called the “ITA at WHRC,” and will have 438 students, including 50 kindergarteners. The number could be expanded in the future based on space in the Whitmer building.

The board has not formally voted to approve those changes.