Ann Arbor Public Schools held a study session Tuesday night to outline their research on possible alternatives to the currently controversial plan for the new Thurston Elementary building.

Community members have expressed concerns about impacts to the Thurston Nature Area, increased flooding, impacts to learning environments during construction, and unforeseen future maintenance due to problematic soil among others.

The district's consultants explored options that stage students at a different school during construction and even one that scraps the new school and just modernizes the current Thurston building, but whether it came down to additional costs or logistical issues, they couldn't recommend any of those options over the current plan.

Staging Thurston students at other nearby schools like King, Logan, or the upcoming new Logan Elementary building could come at the cost of staging additional schools, delaying move-in timelines by three to five years, and at least $9 million.

It also doesn't guarantee the Thurston Nature Center goes unchanged.

"Staging Thurston will not result in any substantial changes to the current site plan. In any alternative plan, the site will sit more to the north than where it currently sits today," said project design manager Kevin Stansbury.   

Modernization of the current building could keep it where it is. It's also the least expensive option, but consultants say this will fall far short of what students and teachers were promised.

"The building won't function the way we need it to function with these additions, but it is affordable," Stansbury says.

Parents in support of the plan detailed why there's a dire need for a new school with no delays.

"My daughter told me yesterday that she didn't go to the bathroom one day this past week because she didn't have a working toilet near her classroom or the reflecting on the science fair that was incredible fun, but was also strangely hot and weirdly stuffy in the dead of winter," said one Thurston parent Michael Oswald.

Those against the current plan delivered a 45-minute presentation, including their experts and alternative site plans. They maintain building on the proposed site will come with long-term risks to the building and the surrounding environment.

"None of the problems that we just went through were caught because you didn't consult the people who would have caught them. Please vote to briefly pause construction so you can consider staging options and make an equitable decision for our community," said former parent and member of the "Let Thurston Play" group James Freeland.

The Board voted Wednesday against seeking alternatives to the current plan and continuing as scheduled 4-3.

AAPS made presentations from both the consultants and "Let Thurston Play" available online.