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Denise Velasco, a teacher with the NCS, spoke of the concerns voiced to her by students about the potential loss of the school. Students were worried about large class sizes and about being pulled out of classrooms. They were worried about being lost and unheard in their neighborhood school. Many threatened to drop out if the school was not longer available to them. She noted the homeless students who attended the school and who were very affected by its loss. Nicholas Knight-Meigs, 1587 South Bertelsen Road, spoke in support of NCS. He spoke of his own schooling experience and suggested that it was of the utmost importance that the council assisted the school. He said the school's location downtown was very beneficial to the City. His girlfriend was homeless and had no place to go until she found NCS. She was very happy there while she was able to attend. He wanted every child who attended to enjoy the school and learn from it. He noted the proximity of Lane Transit District and the Eugene Library that benefited the school and were needed for the school to remain functional. Zach Bryson, 1455 Santa Rosa Street, a student at NCS, said he would not have been able to succeed at a public high school and for that reason went to NCS. It had changed his life and he did not know where he would be without it. He was graduating this year and had never thought that would happen. Fyona Rose Dahl, 425 South 3 rd Street, Cottage Grove, a student at NCS, said many considered the school to be a second home and the students and staff as a family and said they did not know what they would do without it. Nathan Spain, 1270 Hilliard Street, a junior at NCS, characterized NCS as a community and said everyone knew each other and were friends. He agreed that many considered the school a second home and there was no school they would rather attend. He suggested that was quite rare. Now that the school was facing homelessness and its future was uncertain, people such as him were frightened by the potential it would not be available to there in coming years. He wanted to know that the school could continue to thrive and prosper after he had left. He had benefited from the school considerably and the school helped him grow. It helped him gain confidence and learn social skills. He hoped that he could look back and think of the time not as the untimely demise of the school but a difficult time that the school managed to overcome. He asked the council to help the school overcome its current problems. Richard Aldrich, 2225 Salem Avenue, Albany, a senior at NCS, recalled his past experiences at public school, which were not positive. He had then attended NCS and improved his reading, writing, and math skills and was attending school more. He tried to attend another school after trying out NCS without success. Now he partici- pated in class. He thought the school should remain downtown and hoped to attend again next year. Brenda Sellers, 100 A Crocker Lane, a student at NCS, spoke of her positive experience at the school and said if it went away she would have to quit dance, which was her life and one of her communities, as was the school. She asked the council to help NCS stay downtown. Gabrielle Legault, 100 A Crocker Lane, mother of Daniel Sellers, spoke of her involvement as a parent at NCS. She said she appreciated the City's predicament and its desire to dispose of the building. However, she pointed out that in reality, people .were not "breaking down the door" to purchase the building from the City. when Ms. Leighton heard the building might be available she had immediately gone to work on partnerships with other nonprofits to fill the building and parents had begun fund raising. However, the school had a short time period and was at risk of not being in place next year if something did not happen soon. She suggested that the school could contribute to a vibrant downtown. MINUTES Eugene City Council May 1.0, 2010 Page 2 Regular Meeting