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| Irisburg pupils move to Axton under plan |
Irisburg Elementary School is proposed to close. |
| More Photos |
Thursday, January 28, 2010
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Henry County Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson is recommending that Irisburg and Axton elementary schools be consolidated and Irisburg and the South Martinsville site be closed to help meet a projected state revenue loss of nearly $8 million over the next two years.
If approved, students from Irisburg Elementary School will be transferred to Axton Elementary, Jackson said. The change would begin July 1.
The net annual savings from the move is projected at $761,043 for the first six years, he said. After that, $132,500 in debt service would be paid off and the annual savings would rise to $893,543 ($828,227 by closing Irisburg and $65,316 by closing South Martinsville).
Jackson will meet with parents at 6 p.m. today to outline his proposal. A public hearing on it is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at a location to be announced.
A staff reduction of 13 positions also is proposed in connection with the consolidation, generating a savings of $758,090.71, said schools’ chief financial officer Dawn Lawson. Those positions would be duplicated under the consolidation.
Both Jackson and school spokesman Melany Stowe said later that does not mean 13 Irisburg employees would be cut. Rather, it means there would be 13 fewer positions filled system-wide.
Jackson also said at this point, he expects Irisburg Principal Jo Ellen Hylton “has a place as a principal” with the county schools. “She is an excellent principal,” he added.
He added that there are two vacancies for principals — at Collinsville Primary and at Laurel Park Middle schools.
Consolidating the two schools “will keep us from potentially having to cut” up to 30 positions, Jackson said.
“Budget cuts have real consequences,” he told school board members at an hour-long budget work session Wednesday.
The school division stands to lose state revenue of $5.4 million in fiscal 2010-11 and another $2.6 million in fiscal 2011-12, he said. (See related story on this page.)
If Irisburg and Axton elementary schools are consolidated, Jackson proposed renaming the blended facility Axton-Irisburg Elementary and redrawing attendance lines.
The schools are three miles apart, and the consolidation could mean slightly longer bus rides for some students, officials said.
Jackson proposed that students now attending Irisburg will be reassigned to Axton. However, some attendance lines will shift, said DeWitt House, assistant superintendent of instruction.
As of Dec. 30, there were 213 students enrolled in Irisburg and 233 in Axton, House said. Both schools house preschool through fifth grade.
“Depending on what decisions students and parents make” about transferring, House projected the consolidated Axton/Irisburg Elementary enrollment could be between 420 and 446. The school’s maximum capacity is 423 students, and it now is operating at 54 percent capacity.
“There really are no major differences” in programming, aside from different reading programs at each school, House said.
The “real impact” would be on youngsters starting kindergarten, particularly if an older sibling attends one of the affected schools, he said. In those cases, school officials would work to accommodate parents’ decisions, House said.
Consolidation also would mean little change to student/teacher ratios, even though staff would be reduced to avoid duplication, according to Linda Dorr, assistant superintendent of administration and human resources.
She estimated the ratio after consolidation at 20 to 1. Stowe added that all those figures are within the state requirements.
Bill Wingfield, facilities director, said both schools are “in excellent condition.” However, because Axton is larger and has more property, it can be renovated easily to handle a larger student population and accommodate them comfortably.
Parking is a concern at each school, Wingfield said, but “there’s very little room to expand parking at Irisburg.” Axton poses a “challenge too, but we can reconfigure the softball” and adjacent areas if needed and install steps leading to the building, he said.
Axton also will provide a larger art room and library, Jackson said, and it has 24 classrooms or core spaces, according to Wingfield.
Jackson also recommended closing the South Martinsville site at 1425 Greensboro Road by July 1 and moving departments housed there for an annual savings of $65,316.
The maintenance and operations would be moved to the former Figsboro school building, nutrition services would move to the third-floor school administration offices at the Henry County Administration Building, and unfinished areas of Drewry Mason Elementary School would be used to store supplies and materials, Wingfield said.
The Adult Education Program would move to a space not yet determined, Wingfield said, and added that spaces under consideration include the former cannery in Axton and converting the program to night classes that could be held in existing high school buildings.
Closing the South Martinsville site does not require a public hearing, Jackson said.
If both closings are approved, the buildings would become surplus facilities and could be turned over to the county as surplus property, school officials said.
Jackson said he hopes the school board will vote on the proposals at its March meeting. |
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