TOO MANY SCHOOLS

Closing a school this year is possible

John Howell
Posted 5/19/15

Although the School Committee has yet to receive recommendations on how to respond to declining enrollment and aging infrastructure – plans that are likely to take several years to implement – …

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TOO MANY SCHOOLS

Closing a school this year is possible

Posted

Although the School Committee has yet to receive recommendations on how to respond to declining enrollment and aging infrastructure – plans that are likely to take several years to implement – the system could close one, and possibly two, schools this year.

Superintendent Richard D’Agostino said Thursday in an interview that he would implement the committee’s instructions, and if it included closing a school or schools, this year it would be a challenge, but it could be done.

With consultants Symmes Maini & McKee Associates finding an excess capacity of nearly 40 percent and that the system has a surplus of eight to 10 schools, the committee is faced with the reality that millions of dollars is being spent on keeping buildings open that could be shuttered. Meanwhile, the committee has approved a budget asking the city to increase funding by $6.9 million. In his budget, Mayor Scott Avedisian rejected the request, instead level-funding schools at $159.5 million.

If the committee delays action on closing one or more schools now, it wouldn’t realize any savings until the next budget year.

But there’s more to closing one building and moving students to one or more other buildings, points out committee chair Jennifer Ahearn.

At this time, the focus is on the district’s three high schools and three junior highs, as consolidation at those levels hasn’t occurred since the district had nearly 20,000 students. As of September, enrollment is projected to be less than 9,000.

D’Agostino sees consolidation at the junior high level the most logical of first steps, with either the closure of Aldrich or Gorton, as both schools are in need of fire code improvements at an added cost of about $1 million each.

“It is feasible to move into Aldrich,” D’Agostino said.

Both Gorton and Aldrich were designed as high schools to accommodate 1,000 students and are now operating at about 50 percent of capacity.

Ahearn said closing a secondary school this summer would be “aggressive.” From her perspective, there’s more at stake than trimming the budget. She would prefer to have a strategy in place that addresses such issues as whether the system adopts a middle school model with grades six through eight, which would require sufficiently certified teachers. If possible, Ahearn would like to not move students more than once as the system contracts.

For example, if Gorton were closed, students would be transferred to Aldrich next year, but then the following year Aldrich would need to close unless the fire code improvements were made. Such a plan assumes closure of a high school – probably Vets – that would be converted into a middle school.

If a high school were to close this year, Ahearn points out, seniors would be graduating from a different school. She feels high school students are more capable of adjusting to such change than junior high students being required to change schools twice within two years.

This would bode for closure of a high school, although at this point there’s no decision on whether a school will be closed this year. Ahearn is looking for the SMMA options this month, with a committee vote to follow.

Could the committee implement a first step of a plan with the closure of a school this year?

Apart from teacher certifications, D’Agostino points to considerations of scheduling, transportation and teacher layoffs. The system has notified 35 teachers that they are subject to layoff. By contract, the district can layoff a maximum of 20 teachers. D’Agostino projects another 10 teachers will retire, leaving a possible net reduction of 30. The issue is that not all the reduction in staffing fits what would happen if a junior high school was closed. The system could end up with a surplus of teachers in some subject areas and shortages in others.

As it stands now, D’Agostino said the system does not have sufficient certified teachers to implement a middle school system.

Also, as he points out, closing a school will incur costs in transportation and investments to upgrade buildings, such as the re-purposing of a high school as a middle school.

“If they [the committee] say to me they want to close a secondary school closed by September, we’ll be working all summer to get it closed,” he said.

Comments

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  • davebarry109

    So get to work already! Close a Friekin school or two already. You need to close ten. Stop debating and overanalyzing things like academics. Make a plan and execute! You've had four years...my public schooling reminds me that we won WWII in that amount of time but you can't seem to close or consolidate a couple of schools. Wasting my money. You folks are incompetent or crooks.

    Tuesday, May 19, 2015 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    Close down all the schools and send the kids to Cranston, East Greenwich, Providence, etc... and pay those districts per child.

    Tear down all the schools and put in asphalt.

    This will save taxpayers their hard earned money all around.

    Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Report this

  • smh

    1) I believe a letter went out at the beginning of the school year stating all school had ben brought up to fire safety codes over the 2014 summer months...Was that a lie and our children have been in danger all along????

    2) If Gorton is closed 1st (before Aldrich) then the $ & time that would have been spent to bring THAT school up to code could be spent on bringing Aldrich up to code, thus avoiding its' closure (unless of course the School Committee has another use in mind just like it did for John Greene when we were told that building was unsafe for students, yet it was okay to upgrade it for School Admin purposes)

    3) The talk of the Middle School Model has been going round and round for years now ~~ teachers could have been getting certified all along in preparation for this transition to take place. Of the 39 state municipalities, Warwick is the only one to not have fully implemented Middle School and Full day Kindergarten

    4 )As for closing a high school, the seniors from that said year would be graduating from a different school regardless of WHEN a closing takes place so stop dangling this carrot in front of us as a scare tactic.

    5) "The issue is that not all the reduction in staffing fits what would happen if a junior high school was closed. The system could end up with a surplus of teachers in some subject areas and shortages in others." Does this not speak of "Poor Party Planning"???? Would one not think to review where the surplus & shortages might be prior to layoff/closing talks so that some teachers might be able to fill in the gap? All of this reeks to high Heaven

    6) "Superintendent" D'Agostino is an ACTING Superintendent ~ not to actual Superintendent so, perhaps, that determination could be made before any layoffs/closings as well.

    7) Take in to account the fact that Apponaug & the Airport expansion/construction areas are a mess right now and getting children to/from any "Consolidation School" in a timely fashion would be hindered greatly by these situations. There are so many contingency factors that have not been taken into consideration OR if they have they are being blatantly ignored.

    8) UNLESS AND UNTIL THE PEOPLE OF WARWICK GET PISSED OFF ENOUGH AND STAND UP AS A WHOLE AGAINST THE BULLY THAT IS THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE (i.e. go to every meeting and at election time VOTE these imbeciles out!) WE SADLY GET WHAT WE GET

    Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Report this

  • Thecaptain

    Justanidiot,

    You chose an applicable screen name.

    Friday, May 22, 2015 Report this

  • Zepeeker

    At the public forum Thursday night, I believe the SMMA representative stated that at the earliest, the time table for implantation would be 3-4 years for a change in the secondary schools. Which they are recommending happens before any changes to the primary level.

    Saturday, May 23, 2015 Report this

  • maggie123

    For the love of God, flip a coin or ask the 8 ball because this is what it amounts to. No one is going to be pleased if their school is closed and children are more adaptable than we give them credit it for. Stop spending money we don't have on BS enough is enough. But most importantly vote this school committee out. Make these changes this summer and parents (of which I am one) deal with it!

    Sunday, May 24, 2015 Report this

  • kevinc

    well said captain..

    Tuesday, May 26, 2015 Report this

  • BobSavage

    Update: Only Two Plans Are Now Under Consideration

    The Three High School/Three Junior High School model will keep high school size at an optimal level (between 800 to 900 student) and keep grade and class size at their current moderate levels that are best for students. At the same time, by having two schools within a building (high school and junior high in the same building) it will optimize use of building capacity. One school board member claimed that it may be difficult to implement this plan because it would require negotiations with the Warwick Teacher Union. That is not a real obstacle; it is likely the WTU will favor this plan over the Two High School/Two Junior High School plan and will want to cooperate in getting it implemented.

    Thursday, June 4, 2015 Report this