The Slippery Rock School Board is right in getting parents involved early on in determining whether changes at the district's three elementary schools could improve the educational program at the buildings — and what those changes should be.

The goal of the process is to ensure that the best use of the elementary buildings — Har-Mer, Moraine and Slippery Rock — is being achieved. There is evidence that that might not now be the case.

Two examples: Har-Mer has empty classrooms, while there have been parents' complaints about overcrowding at Slippery Rock Elementary.

Going in to the discussion about the three buildings, it must be acknowledged that issues such as this have the potential to become controversial — especially if recommendations call for students to transfer to another school. All interested in the upcoming review must allow the process to be conducted in an orderly way without emotions jeopardizing potential progress while a possible plan of action is being assembled.

All must keep in mind that nothing will change unless there is an official decision and vote by the board at a public meeting. Meanwhile, district residents should avoid overreacting to rumors — there surely will be some — while the process advances.

At this time, there is no reason to doubt the board's good intentions. Parents should enter the discussion with equally good intentions, not with the idea of disrupting or subverting the process.

District Superintendent Kathy Nogay has voiced the assurance that there are no plans to consolidate or close any of the schools.

"We're just looking at better ways to structure the district," she said.

The Rev. Mike Scheer, school board president, voiced the same assurance, stating that "there is no talk of closing any of the buildings."

Two meetings are planned for this month to begin discussion about how better to use these buildings. The first is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Har-Mer; the second is planned for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at Slippery Rock Elementary.

It was board member Tom Reiber who in the spring raised the issue of the buildings' use. What triggered his comments was the disclosure that kindergarten enrollment is expected to decrease during the next few years.

"We need to look at whether we're using buildings appropriately and are we doing what's best for the kids," Reiber said.

That's an exercise all districts should periodically conduct.

Reiber had the right attitude when he expressed the belief that no decisions should be made without weighing the needs of students, parents and administrators.

"Plenty of advance warnings would be given if anything would be done," he said.

For now, district parents should regard the upcoming meetings as being within theirs and their children's best interests, and they should be prepared to listen carefully and to offer productive input.

Slippery Rock officials are seeking to ensure that the district is the best that it can be. But they can't achieve that goal without addressing all obvious issues.

The interest and mood that the two upcoming meetings generate will be a harbinger of whether needed changes can be carried out successfully and without controversy.

The best suggestion for now is for all involved to remain open-minded.