SOUTH OTSELIC – The Otselic Valley Board of Education met with between 50 and 60 parents, faculty and residents Wednesday evening to hear a special committee report on a possible merger of the Georgetown Elementary School and the Junior/Senior High School.
Prompted by Governor David Paterson’s proposed $328,389 in cuts for the Otselic Valley School District, a 5.89 percent decrease in projected state aid for the 2010-2011 school year, President of the Board David Cruikshank charged an administrative team consisting of Interim Superintendent Linda Taylor, Junior/Senior Principal Scott Poreda, Elementary Principal Nancy Gallaher and 13 other faculty and staff members, with determining the feasibility of a merger.
Administrative officials stated that the priority of the committee was to examine if such a merger is physically possible, as it concerns educational programming, enrollment, scheduling and potential financial savings.
Other issues not addressed by the committee, due to time restraints, included student performance on state assessments, community and parental sentiment and the impact on the Georgetown community.
Cruikshank noted that it was important for those in attendance, and the community as a whole, to remember that at present, “nothing is set in stone” and that “this is only one set of ideas.”
Besides the opportunity for more cross-age tutoring, the committee reported that the only other advantages to the proposed consolidation would be financial, including the reduction of one full-time administrative position, cost savings associated with personnel reductions and savings on fuel and electricity of approximately $66,350.
The disadvantages of an elementary and junior/senior consolidation were more extensive, according to the committee’s report.
Larger class sizes for both the kindergarten and first grade, the loss of a sense of community and individuality for the kindergarten through sixth grade and the loss of an established seventh and eighth grade structure were mentioned during the presentation, and Taylor stated more than once that classroom capacity and flexibility would be seriously impacted.
In addition, Taylor said that difficulties would arise, concerning accommodations, if enrollment were to increase in the future, and added that on top of maintaining an empty building, the loss of jobs would be painful for the entire school district.
“We all want the best educational program we can have for our kids,” stated Taylor. “Scheduling and flexibility will definitely be an issue, and if we’re forced to do this these are the kind of things that will have to be addressed.”
As it concerns the junior/senior facility itself, the committee reported that additional investigation would be necessary to study the impact of the merge on the cafeteria, kitchen, septic system, parking lot, restrooms and the safety of the restrooms for the younger children and playground, and added that the shortage of lockers and cubbies, and the required space for fire drills and potential evacuation must also be examined.
Taylor assured those in attendance that both the board and the committee had “worked extremely hard on this,” and that they hope to keep the tax levy increase under 4 percent, though she warned residents that “things aren’t going to get better anytime soon.”
Cruikshank reiterated that the “board has not made any final decisions at this time,” and stated that “we wouldn’t have asked for this committee if we didn’t find it necessary, but this is a good starting point.”
In its summary, the committee reported that it is physically impossible to combine both campuses at this time without substantial renovations and the loss of multiple programs. Those in attendance and the president of the board agreed, and Cruikshank stated that “as it’s laid out right now, it wouldn’t work.”