Thurston parents urge pause and staging to protect Nature Center; some parents press to 'build now'

Hundreds of residents and a group of Thurston parents and teachers filled the public‑comment portion of an Ann Arbor Public Schools study session on Feb. 26 to press competing views about the district's plan to build a new Thurston Elementary School.

"Trust your experts," said Taylor Morgan, a Thurston parent who opened the public comment period and urged the board to proceed immediately with the on‑site build, saying the existing school has suffered from deferred capital maintenance. Other speakers backed that view, warning that lengthy delays, staging the school elsewhere, or splitting the school community would force families to leave the district or otherwise disrupt children's education.

A larger set of residents — organized as the Lehi Thurston Play group — countered that the proposed site harms the Thurston Nature Center and places students, particularly those with IEPs or sensory needs, next to years of active construction. The group said it had gathered a petition of more than 1,000 signatures and presented a teacher survey reflecting concern about the current plan. "We have a petition with over 1,000 signatures," a presenter told trustees, and urged the board to "briefly pause construction beginning in March" to evaluate staging alternatives.

Speakers described technical concerns about wetlands, soil conditions and long‑term maintenance costs on the site: plant biologists and civil engineers raised questions about wetlands delineation and the geotechnical report; a resident volunteer asked the board to allow the community to conduct a wetlands delineation so "we'll all know the real rules." A parent and former federal prosecutor, Caroline Gross, urged more board oversight of Gilbane and said the contractor "has been linked to several public corruption scandals," a charge she said she had shared directly with the board.

Several parents and specialists described the effects of construction on vulnerable children. Dr. Ali Hassani, a local parent and occupational health professional, warned that continuous construction noise and vibration can cause dysregulation in students with sensory needs. "These kids will not just struggle to function, they will dysregulate," he said, urging staged construction or stronger mitigations.

Board logistics and timing were also contested. Trustees had allocated 30 minutes for public comment for the special session and initially added five minutes at the start; later the board voted to allow presenters additional time and extended the meeting. Trustees did not vote at this session to pause the project; capital‑program staff and district leaders proceeded to present options and cost estimates later in the evening.

What happens next: the board heard a detailed capital‑program presentation that outlined staging scenarios, estimated expenses for redesign and staging, and described regulatory steps and technical mitigations. Trustees did not take a formal vote to pause construction during the meeting; the capital team said it would post technical responses and Q&A to the district website and continue stakeholder engagement.