NY1: Overcrowded Corona School Set to Get More Space

NY1: Some parents are fed up with packed classrooms at one Queens elementary school, but officials say changes are coming. NY1's Shannan Ferry filed the following report.

Parents who send their children to P.S. 143 in Corona say, when it comes to overcrowding, their school is bursting at the seams.

They tell us the facility is built for 900 students, but say enrollment is nearly double that number.

"It's hard for the teacher to differentiate when you have so many students," said Angelica Salgado, who is the PTA President.

Alongside the main school building on 113th Street, you'll find these trailers where parents say hundreds of students must attend classes.

"The trailer is bad because when it's hot, it's very very hot inside," said parent Veronica Abreo.

But State Senator Jose Peralta says changes are coming.  He's been calling on the city to build a permanent annex where these trailers have been sitting for years, and says officials are now working to make that a reality.

"It's included the 2015-2019 capital budget, if we can reduce class sizes, and make sure that we have a smaller amount of kids per teacher and per para, I think it's a win-win," said Peralta.

Peralta says the annex will also make conditions safer for students.  Now, any student taking class in a trailer now must cross over to the main building every time they go to the cafeteria or the gym.

"It's not good for them because many of them get sick, sometimes the bathrooms don't work well, they have to use the bathrooms in the main buildings," said Salgado.

"When you have over 700 kids in these trailers, in these six trailers, that's a shame, and it should never happen," said Peralta.

Some students also have to attend classes at a separate school site on 38th avenue.

A Department of Education spokesperson says they're carefully reviewing proposals for an annex to P.S. 143 that will replace the trailers and provide additional space for students.

Meantime, Capital Plan documents say the project is expected be complete by September 2020. 

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