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Pilot school progress By 0, 6/26/2003 THERE IS no arguing with success - unless the subject is the Boston public schools, where the central administration is battling with supporters of the highly regarded Patrick Lyndon pilot school in West Roxbury. More than 100 parents are waiting for a kindergarten seat at the oversubscribed K-8 school. Lyndon administrators hope to accommodate some of them in the fall by providing a third kindergarten class. But a stiff-necked School Department seems to be doing everything in its power to thwart the effort. In 1995 Lyndon educators took possession of a mothballed facility and quickly turned it into one of the better K-5 schools in the system. Adaptability is a strong Lyndon trait. And because it is a pilot school, Lyndon's administrators have been able to make management decisions free of bureaucratic interference. In 1997 they used modular units in a nearby church lot to house students in grades 6, 7, and 8. Recent school consolidation plans finally seemed to work in favor of the Lyndon School. Last winter Lyndon's administrators learned that they could combine all of their grades for the coming school year in the vacated Shaw School building in West Roxbury. With several classrooms to spare and demand for seats from parents of kindergarten-age students, the Lyndon administrators and governance board made the reasonable proposal to open another kindergarten class. In the spring the roof fell in. Lyndon officials learned that 17 middle school students with profound special needs would be assigned to their school in the fall. They also learned they would lose roughly $500,000 because of failure to fill available seats, a source of much fingerpointing between the School Department and Lyndon officials. The School Department nixed the new kindergarten. City Councilor Maura Hennigan, a consistent Lyndon supporter, lashed out at the School Department this week, accusing officials of ignoring their own policy of including pilot school managers in all assignment practices. They are ''disrespecting a great model,'' she said. Michael Contompasis, the School Department's chief operating officer, complained that the Lyndon had resisted the placement of special needs students and has a sense of entitlement. ''The perception is that this place is a private school,'' said Contompasis. The Lyndon School deserves better. On Tuesday the school's management team submitted a plan to the school superintendent and the City Council that appears to accommodate both a new kindergarten class and space for youngsters with severe special needs. The Lyndon's three-person management team enjoys a reputation for promoting both academic excellence and equity. It represents nearly a century of educational experience. Given the freedom, the team will make the school work for everyone. This story ran on page A16 of the Boston Globe on 6/26/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.