Panel convened in Amherst to look at options for schools
AMHERST- A newly-formed committee will meet on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 to discuss possible elementary school reorganization plans before the public and School Committee weigh in next month.
In the interest of trimming costs in face of a projected $1.2 million elementary schools budget shortfall, Interim Co-superintendent Helen Vivian has said she believes it is time to pursue one of several reorganization scenarios discussed in recent years.
The idea of pairing the four elementary schools and having children in lower grades attend one of the schools in each pair with children in the higher grades attending the other appeared to be the most viable plan, Vivian said earlier this month.
She suggested Fort River might be paired with Crocker Farm and Mark's Meadow with Wildwood. That move could save up to $400,000, because the number of classes could be reduced by four or five, Vivian said.
The committee will also consider three other options, including not reorganizing the schools, closing Mark's Meadow and creating three kindergarten-through-fourth grade schools and one intermediate school for fifth and sixth graders.
Committee members include Amherst School Committee Chairman Andrew Churchill and member Catherine Sanderson, the four elementary school principals, co-superintendents and parents and teachers from each of the schools.
"I can't think of anything that creates more concern for parents than change involving the structure and organization of the elementary schools. It's obviously something that is anxiety-provoking for children, teachers and parents," Sanderson, a parent of three elementary school children, said.
Vivian, in a prepared statement, said that the magnitude of the projected budget shortfall would mean that "small steps such as raising fees, cutting school buses, and other commonly suggested steps will not be sufficient" to close the gap.
If reorganizing the elementary schools does not prove possible or if it does not result in substantial savings, class sizes would likely be larger and cuts deeper, Vivian said.
Even if the pairing plan produced savings of $400,000 there would still be a "sobering" amount to cut, Vivian said.
Sanderson and Churchill as well as school principals, teachers, parents and former Supt. Jere Hochman served on a committee, last year, that weighed various reorganization options. An executive summary of its report can be seen at https://www.arps.org/node/70 [1] .
The district also commissioned a study in 2007 by the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) evaluating the current school configuration.
Data from both efforts will be used in the decision-making process.
Among the data Sanderson said would be important to weigh are comparative cost savings, how long children would be on buses and the socio-economic and ethnic distribution of the schools' populations under the reconfiguration plans.
Currently, the schools have very different profiles. About half of students at Crocker Farm qualify for free and reduced lunch, a much higher percentage than at the other schools, for example. Students are also voluntarily bussed outside their neighborhoods depending on their first language.
Spanish-speaking students are invited to attend Crocker Farm, while Khmer-speaking students may attend Fort River, Chinese-speaking students Wildwood and Korean speakers Mark's Meadow.
Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.
