Parents make plea to keep schools
BUTLER TWP — Parents told the Butler School Board on Monday night not to take away their neighborhood elementary schools.
They want to keep those schools with kindergarten to sixth graders as they are now and not split up the grades, sending some students to other elementary schools and some to the junior high building.
The parents were responding to proposed plans to close some of the district's 11 elementary schools.
More than 300 people attended the meeting at the Butler Intermediate High School auditorium.
Residents have expressed concerns with the consolidation plans since they were announced, including class sizes, long bus rides, and repurposing the junior high building downtown for elementary-age students.Monday night parents spoke of their passion for their neighborhood schools, including Northwest, Summit and Broad Street.“Knowing that Northwest Elementary School was an excellent school for our children, it became the deciding factor for us when we purchased our home,” said Kristen Wynn of Butler Township, who has 6-year-old and 3-year-old daughters. “They provide a family atmosphere where it's natural to support and encourage our children. They provide a sense of security that all children need and deserve.“Not only do they know our children by name, but they know each of their personalities, and they take the time to work with them individually based on their needs.”She continued: “Cramming 1,000 plus young, impressionable children in a large school away from their neighborhoods and younger siblings is not the answer.”Carrie Collins of Summit Township felt similarly about Summit Elementary where her three children in first, fourth and sixth grades attend classes.“My kids have grown up there,” Collins said. “My youngest, Natalie, was 6 months old, and I'd strap her to my chest to unpack Market Day boxes. When I brought her in for kindergarten orientation, I heard the school custodian say, 'I can't believe our little Natalie is going to kindergarten.' And the secretary said, 'I know. She's growing up so fast.'”She said the community school fosters a sense of community, responsibility, as well as establishes a strong and healthy learning environment.“With all due respect, I feel that's something the Thomas and Williamson (consolidation) study had not taken into account,” she said. “Take away that K through 6 model and there are no more sixth graders to watch over the little ones.”Laura Wick of Butler said Broad Street Elementary students have more to lose than anyone else in the district consolidation plans.She previously talked to the board about the importance of city schools and the importance of Broad Street Elementary in her neighborhood, but Monday night she discussed the importance of the school for the underprivileged students there.“I am here for the children whose parents do not wake them up to get them to school on time. They need to be able to walk to school so that they can still get there for at least part of the day,” she said.“I am here for the children who are sent to Broad Street playground when their mom doesn't want them at home. Please leave our school as a school so they always have somewhere safe to go.”The two new plans presented Monday night would send the vast majority of Broad Street students to Center Township Elementary, more than four miles away.Wick said, “Please, for the children who do fit the stereotypes, for the children who already have far more difficulties in life than any child should ever experience, for the children who do not need another test of their resilience, please find a plan that keeps Broad Street Elementary open.”Two teachers, Dave Andrews at the junior high school, and Bridget Miller, a teacher at Clearfield Elementary, also spoke their concerns: Primarily, they said the district is trying to implement consolidation plans too quickly.“Is it even possible to do it in a year?” Andrews asked. “Is it possible when some of these plans are potentially looking at half the staff members switching buildings in a matter of three months over the summer?”
Two new consolidation proposals were presented Monday night.One of the new plans included maintaining a kindergarten to sixth grade configuration at the elementary level and closing the junior high school and three elementary schools. Both new plans would keep one city elementary school open, Emily Brittain Elementary.The K to 6 plan would save $2.4 million per year for the district, and the plan that has a K to 4 configuration that keeps Emily Brittain open would save $3.5 million per year.A previous plan would have a K to 3 primary configuration, 4 to 6 intermediate elementary, and close six elementary schools. That would save about $4.3 million per year.Jon Thomas of Thomas and Williamson Project Management said the plans were designed because of public input about concerns over closing all three city elementary schools, and the K to 6 model was from working with representatives from the Butler Residents for Quality Schools group.“This is in response to the public's desire to look at an option that kept one of the city schools open. And Emily Brittain had a number of advantages,” Thomas said. “It's main advantage is its size.”In October, Thomas recommended three consolidation plans to the school board, which included closing six or seven of the district's 11 elementary schools and reconfiguring grades into a kindergarten through 3 or 4, 4 to 5 through 6, 7 through 9 and 10 through 12 grade model.Those plans included closing all three of the city's elementary schools: Broad Street, Center Avenue and Emily Brittain. Thomas was hired in 2013 to prepare consolidation plans.Now each of the three recommended consolidation plans would close the Broad Street, Center Avenue and Clearfield elementary schools. In two of the plans, Meridian and Oakland Elementary schools would be closed, and one of the plans, with a K to 3 configuration, would close six schools including Emily Brittain.Under each plan, seventh, eighth and ninth graders would attend the intermediate high school and sophomores, juniors and seniors would attend the high school.
Superintendent Dale Lumley said buildings will likely be considered for closure at the school board's Jan. 12 meeting.After that, a public hearing will be Feb. 4 for any schools that are marked to be closed, with individual school visits following.After 90 days, the school board will vote on May 11 to take action on closing those buildings.While Lumley said there is never a good time to close schools, he said the decrease in enrollment and the increase in costs contributed to the necessity of a district consolidation plan.“Essentially, here's what we're saying: This really is the perfect storm for consideration for consolidation of schools. This is not a new idea. Consolidation has really been talked about for the last 20 to 25 years. But it's never been the right time to do it,” he said.“For the last five or six years, we've reduced staff by over 100 positions. …. So we've really cut staff significantly. And right now, the building usage is at about 55 percent.”
