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| Larger class sizes are a concern |
Henry County School Superintendent Anthony Jackson explains the proposal to close Irisburg Elementary School and move its students to Axton Elementary at a meeting with about 130 parents Thursday at the Irisburg school. (Bulletin photo) |
Friday, January 29, 2010
By PAUL COLLINS - Bulletin Staff Writer
About 130 people attended an informational meeting Thursday on the possible consolidation of Irisburg and Axton elementary schools, and several of them seemed to be opposed or have reservations about the proposal.
A few others asked questions, and one woman interviewed said she thought the proposal is reasonable because of the budget shortfalls.
Most of the more than hour-long meeting at Irisburg Elementary was taken up by county school Superintendent Anthony Jackson explaining his proposal and why he felt it was necessary. If approved by the Henry County School Board, it would take effect July 1.
At the beginning of the meeting, he began by saying school officials were expecting a loss of $5.4 million in state revenues in 2010-2011 and $2.6 million in 2011-2012. But he said earlier that day he read a newspaper report that Gov. Bob McDonnell and the House of Delegates had rejected the proposed increase in the state income tax and additional cuts are expected in education, health and the Virginia Retirement System.
“We already had a big gap” in funding, and now the gap will be even greater, he said.
Closing Irisburg initially would save the school district $695,727.71 annually under the proposal. After $795,004 in debt service (mortgage) is paid off on the Irisburg building in six years, the annual savings would be $828,227.71.
The consolidated school might be able to qualify for additional state funding for teachers since there would be more students, Jackson said.
He said he proposed Axton as the site for the consolidated school because it has more available space in the building and more land that could be developed for parking than Irisburg. He said without consolidation both schools will have significantly larger increases in class sizes than the consolidated school would, and the school district would have to lay off more people in the district.
One of the most vocal people at the meeting was parent Michael Scott, who challenged Jackson’s statements about class sizes.
“We’re going to double the size of” classes, Scott said.
Jackson promised that is not going to happen. He said Axton served nearly 400 students when it was a middle school. As of Dec. 30, there were 213 students enrolled in Irisburg Elementary and 223 enrolled in Axton Elementary, according to the school district.
Jackson said that Axton has more available space than Irisburg. Axton is 54 percent used and Irisburg is 78 percent used, he said. And resources classes, such as for art and music, could be used for other classes, Jackson said.
The mention of that drew a comment from someone in the crowd that the school district is going to cut art and music, but Jackson, a former music teacher, said no, although they might have to share space.
Jackson told Scott that if he didn’t accept Jackson’s estimates about classroom space and size, he would be willing to walk through the schools to show him.
Scott also said he wanted to make sure his two children get the same attention they do now at Irisburg.
In an interview, Scott said, “I don’t understand why they picked this school (Irisburg).” He added that he thinks money could be saved by cutting the salaries of district administrators.
Parent Amber Fulcher asked a couple of questions, including why Mount Olivet Elementary wasn’t selected rather than Irisburg. Jackson said reasons included location; Mount Olivet has more years remaining to pay on its debt service; and Irisburg can’t add many more students on its campus.
“I understand you have to make budget cuts,” Fulcher said after the meeting, but she thinks there are more options to look at than Irisburg, such as consolidating Mount Olivet and Axton.
Jessica Bray questioned how teachers could give as much one-on-one attention to students if class sizes are larger. Jackson said that is one of the reasons he made the proposal, because class sizes will increase less if the two schools consolidate than if they continue as separate schools.
Later, Bray said she doesn’t agree, and she asked why the state is cutting funds for education and health. She said many jobs have already been lost in this area, and “why can’t we prepare the kids to get the education they need to get out of this ... town.”One woman said she thinks children will suffer changing schools.
Jackson said federal instructional mandates are not going away, but he asked, “Would you prefer 27, 28 kids in a classroom or 20?” The average class size at Axton is 18.9 students and 17.4 at Irisburg, according to information Jackson presented.
Chris Huffman, who has two grandchildren who attend Irisburg, said in an interview, “I think certain aspects were not covered.” For example, he said, Irisburg Principal Jo Ellen Hylton runs “a tight ship” and there are few discipline problems, and the school has a good program.
“I’m very impressed,” he said. He also suggested the school system look at the feasibility of shutting down Mount Olivet and moving the students to Axton and/or Irisburg elementary schools.
Lisa Eskew said she has two children, now aged 21 and 19, who attended Irisburg and an 8-year-old who is a student there now. She said that several years ago when Irisburg was merged with Axton, her 21-year-old daughter, Journey, said it was the worst year of her life.
She said it’s arguable, but she thinks Irisburg has more love and heart than any other school. She also said she fears that children who need special help will be left behind if the schools consolidate.
Parent Lisa Manning said she thinks the proposal is reasonable and understandable because of the budget shortfall, and her biggest concern is that the number of teachers who lose jobs be kept as low as possible.
Irisburg District school board member Curtis Millner Sr. told the audience that he started school at Irisburg when it opened in 1949, and “I don’t want to see the school closed.” But he added that some “hard, hard decisions” have to be made because of the budget shortfalls.
“Don’t get upset with the (school district) administration” because it is the school board that will make the final decision, he said. He added that regardless of how he feels, he’s going to vote the way he thinks the majority of Irisburg District residents want.
He suggested that residents contact The Harvest Foundation to urge possible funding for the school. He said the Henry County School Board belongs to the Virginia State School Board Associatioin, which in turn belongs to the National School Board Association, and that he and other school board members around the state and nation will be going to Washington, D.C., in a few days to seek federal funding.
Millner said people may contact him at 638-7503 or chief32009@live.com. Jackson said people may contact him as well. |
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