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| School board members weigh in |
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Monday, February 1, 2010
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Stemming job losses and minimally affecting students may override concerns about consolidating Irisburg and Axton elementary schools.
When outlining the proposal to close Irisburg Elementary and transfer students to Axton Elementary, school officials estimated the move would reduce staff by 13 positions, compared with 30 positions that could be affected as a result of state cuts that are expected to total nearly $8 million over the next two years.
Considering the importance of keeping jobs in the area, those opposed to the proposal “may change their mind” when they learn of the potential cuts, said Curtis Millner, Iriswood District representative on the Henry County School Board.
So far, that has not been the case, Millner said.
Shortly after the proposal was unveiled Wednesday, a majority of the people Millner talked with or heard from said “that we should leave it (Irisburg School) open. It appears that one end of the county is taking all the cuts,” is a common opinion, he said.
Several parents at an informational meeting at Irisburg on Thursday said they do not want the school to close.
Some people are concerned about the school’s historic significance. Irisburg was among the first brick schools built to serve the county’s black community, Millner has said.
Many similar schools in the county have closed already, he said, and during the 2004 consolidation, “we lost our high school.”
The former Laurel Park High School now is a middle school, and high school students from the district attend Magna Vista High School.
Some parents worry that class sizes will be bigger at Axton if the schools merge, but school officials have said class sizes will be smaller if the schools consolidate than if they do not.
Schools were closed in other communities, according to Rudy Law, Blackberry District representative on the school board. For instance, Bassett Middle School closed in his district. In the Horsepasture District, Spencer-Penn closed, and Carver Middle School became an elementary school. A private organization bought Spencer-Penn and turned it into a community center.
Law said he understands it is tough to close a school, regardless of the location.
“My grandfather helped swing a hammer to build Sanville (Elementary School),” Law said. “My father went there, and I went there. It would be tough to close it.”
However, “I never learned anything from a brick, a piece of mortar or a building,” he said. “That may sound harsh, but we’re not in the historical preservation business. We’re in the business of educating kids.”
Law noted that the decision of whether to close Irisburg will not be the only challenge facing the school system.
If the proposal is approved, the net annual savings is projected at $761,043 for the first six years, officials said. But the school system anticipates it will lose state revenues of $5.4 million in fiscal 2010-11 and another $2.6 million in fiscal 2011-12, officials said.
The consolidation proposal “is just the beginning of the cuts we’ll have to make,” Law said. “It is what it is, and it’s a sad thing. I hate to see stuff like this happen, but we’ve got to do the best we can with what we’ve got.
“Ultimately, we’ve got to do what’s best for the kids,” Law said. “When we start worrying about what building we’re going to teach them in, we’re already off focus. If we keep that school open, there will be more jobs lost, and that’s the bottom line.”
Terri Flanagan, the Horsepasture District member of the school board, said job losses also concern her.
“We have to make sure we don’t lose more than we have to for our students,” she said.
In the past, Flanagan said neighborhoods schools were commonplace.
But “things change, and we are no longer able to support neighborhood schools with our population,” she said. “We don’t just pick a school (to close) because we can. Tough decisions have to be made.
“Consolidation is not meant to hurt. It’s intended to help,” she said, and added the proposal has nothing to do with race. “There is no reason to say race is an issue. That should never have entered into this conversation. ... We want this to be as easy on our children as possible.”
Joe DeVault, at-large member, said he supports the proposal because it meets the benchmarks he has identified as important.
Closing Irisburg will help save instructional programs for students, save jobs and balance the budget, DeVault said.
“If closing Irisburg school will help us meet those conditions, that’s the option I support,” he said.
Charles Speakman, Ridgeway District school board member, said economics prompted the proposal.
“It’s a matter of aligning our resources with state allocations, local revenues” and other funding sources, he said.
“It’s a shame we have to do things like that,” Speakman said of the proposal. “But it’s best for everyone if we cut what we have to cut to save jobs.”
School board Chairman Kathy Rogers, the Collinsville District board member, and many other members said administrators and staff spent a lot of time studying the issue before making recommendations.
Although she said she understands that whenever a school closes “it is difficult for” the affected community, in this case, consolidating the Irisburg and Axton schools will have “minimal impact on the students.”
The schools are only about three miles apart, and “we’re moving the entire student body,” she said. She added that will minimize the impact on students who might have been split from friends if they were transferred to different schools.
The proposal also makes sense, she added.
Axton Elementary, with 233 pupils as of Dec. 30, is operating at 54 percent of its student capacity, Rogers said.
“We do not have the luxury” of allowing schools to operate at less than capacity, she said.
A student/teacher ratio of 20 to 1 “is a very good class size” and within the range allowed by the state, Rogers said.
“Everybody knew this recommendation was coming,” Rogers said. “When you have to cut as much as we’ve got to cut, you have got to make long-term” proposals that focus on efficiency.
“We must continue to provide a top notch education for the children through a very difficult economic situation,” Rogers said.
Betsy Mattox, Reed Creek board member, could not be reached for comment. |
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