PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Providence Public School leaders are hoping to finalize plans to use a portion of the former Carl Lauro Elementary School as swing space for the upcoming school year. Parents from Asa Messer Elementary School were informed late Friday afternoon that while the school undergoes construction to become a K-8 facility, the district is recommending that students and staff be temporarily relocated to the former elementary school on Kenyon Street. Asa Messer parents like Gabe Long were informed Friday they could attend a listening session on Tuesday evening so the district could take questions. Long told Target 12 he doesn’t feel like parents have been able to give significant input. "It feels to me, like we just haven’t been brought along," Long said. This fall, the city put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a scope of work for various swing space improvements, which included work at the Lauro building. "As of now, we are planning to have Asa Messer use a portion of the Lauro building (the side of the building that was previously used as swing space for William D’Abate), with funding for improvements to the space being used from the capital project budget," district spokesperson Suzanne Ouellette told Target 12. In December 2022, the state-run school district and the R.I. Department of Education announced that the Lauro, along with the Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary School at Broad Street, would close prior to the start of the 2023-24 school year. "The two buildings are over 222 years old combined, and are consistently rated among the worst facilities in the city. It is estimated that it would cost $95 million to just make these two buildings safe, warm, and dry," a joint news release from PPSD and RIDE said at the time. School officials also cited declining enrollment as a reason for the closures. Talks about how to use the building stalled over the summer, but earlier this fall the school district shared preliminary options on construction and swing space timelines. Those options included using some or all of the former Lauro school as a temporary swing space while Asa Messer undergoes construction. (Another option factored in not using Lauro at all.) District spokesperson Jay Wegimont told Target 12 the district is planning to finalize any school movement or swing space decisions by Jan. 10 "to provide ample time for planning." "PPSD has made community engagement a priority and joined nine City Council ward meetings across the City in September and October as well as school PTO meetings to discuss upcoming capital projects, including Lauro," Wegimont said. Wegimont said after the holiday break, the district is planning to hold more of these sessions. (District schools are on break starting on Dec. 23 and classes resume on Jan. 2.) Long's son attends kindergarten at Asa Messer. He said he supports the school being turned into a K-8 facility in the coming years, but expressed reservations about the Lauro building being used in the interim. "I understand that if you're doing a swing space, you're not going to do the same level of renovations that you would if that were a permanent space," Long said. "We obviously need a place that is safe, warm, dry and accessible.” Long said he also questioned if Lauro could accommodate students with mobility issues and special education needs. Providence City Council President Rachel Miller also expressed concern about how the needs of all kinds of students would be met in the space, and if major infrastructure issues would be addressed in time. "Now, the district is proposing to place students back into the same building without providing detailed communication about critical improvements that will make the building a safe learning environment," Miller said in a statement to Target 12. "Parents, teachers, and students have important questions about the impact this will have." Wegimont said the district is "closely reviewing" the needs of students at Asa Messer. "PPSD's goal is to ensure that this transition is as smooth as possible for students, staff, and families. The analysis currently underway will provide a better understanding of student needs," Wegimont added. Mayor Brett Smiley says the city still owns the building. "It does need some work, but it’s available and we would be happy for it to be used as swing space," Smiley told Target 12 on Tuesday. "How nice it could be made is a function of how much money you want to spend on it, but it certainly could be made safe to educate kids in." Smiley previously floated Lauro for use as a charter school. The City Council rejected the idea in June, but Smiley said on Tuesday he still believes it could be a good use for the building. "These discussions take place in the context of whether charters are actually looking for space; today they are," Smiley said. "Whether they'll be looking down the road after its done being used as a swing space, I don't know." The city previously accepted alternate proposals for what to do with the building, including housing. Smiley said the single housing proposal the city received was too expensive to retrofit the building, and it makes more sense that it remain an "education facility for the foreseeable future." "As for who would want that building or what the demand would be when PPSD is finished with it, we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it," Smiley said. Alexandra Leslie ([email protected]) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. 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