EDITORIAL

The will to consolidate?

Posted 10/20/16

Slow down; what's the rush; iron out the bumps in the consolidation of secondary schools first. Those have been the predominate cries at three public hearings to consolidate elementary schools. The proposed plan would close Holden and Wickes schools and

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EDITORIAL

The will to consolidate?

Posted

Slow down; what’s the rush; iron out the bumps in the consolidation of secondary schools first.

Those have been the predominate cries at three public hearings to consolidate elementary schools. The proposed plan would close Holden and Wickes schools and re-purpose Drum Rock Early Childhood Center as an additional space for the career and technical center and John Brown Francis School as the early childhood center.

Predictably, parents are concerned by the closure of their neighborhood school. They have made convincing arguments to keep the schools open, but as we know Warwick school enrollment is half of the 19,000 students it was in the 1980s and is forecast to continue declining. School consolidation is painful, but leaving schools at 60 percent of capacity is a waste of resources that could be better used by the district.

While an independent consultant suggested four to six elementary schools could be closed, the School Committee and the administration have chosen this course as the best for Warwick. Picking what schools to close has been the challenge, and to do that the consolidation committee weighed a number of issues. It has looked at the structural integrity of the buildings and estimated the cost of having them meet today’s expectations, including the removal of asbestos, new heating systems, windows, roofs, electrical systems and physical floor space. The committee considered the proximity of schools and, in the case of Wickes, that school’s proximity to the airport. They also looked at enrollment at each of the elementary schools, added busing costs incurred by closures and neighborhood impacts.

Could there have been more detailed studies, as some parents have suggested? The answer is, yes.

But to suggest this process has been rushed, or that elementary school consolidation is a surprise, is absurd.

We also find the reasoning a decision should be postponed to allow the dust to settle on secondary school consolidation specious. Yes, secondary school consolidation hasn’t been an easy ride, but it is smoothing out.

There’s room for improvements, however, delaying a decision on elementary schools won’t change things.

If anything, and it’s an issue that hasn’t been raised, it could be argued the district should proceed with consolidation because additional elementary classrooms will become available with the transition of sixth-graders to middle schools at Veterans and Winman. Similarly, it could be argued elementary consolidation should be delayed until middle schools are up and running.

At the core is what schools should be closed, not whether we need to shutter some schools.

The consolidation committee will make its recommendation and it will be up to the five-member School Committee to proceed with the plan, amend it, or scuttle it.

There is time to change the current plan, yet adhere to a timetable to consolidate elementary schools this year. It would mean more public hearings should another school other than those already named for closure be identified.

There’s ample time to do this. The real question is whether there’s the will to consolidate.

Comments

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  • JohnStark

    Let's face it, the SC could recommend putting off consolidation until the year 2023 when there will be 6500 students in the Warwick public schools, and buildings will be at 35% capacity. But the usual suspects will ask: "What's the rush?" and recommend to push off consolidation to 2030. By that time, there will be one school for every 20 students but, Hey, it's all 'for the children'.

    Thursday, October 20, 2016 Report this

  • Stella

    John, your right by 2023 there will be only 6500 students. Why? because no one will want to send their children to Warwick schools. Think sinking property values, closed business ect ect. But before you comment go take a good look at the fine job of consolidation so far. Ask the students if classes are better now or last year. Ask them what they think of the condition of Vets or Pilgrim and the half baked renovation they gave the schools. Ask about special Ed or class size or scheduling. John you can take their answers to the bank this I am sure of.

    Friday, October 21, 2016 Report this

  • JohnStark

    Stella, I could not agree more. Which is why I never allowed my kids to be within 100 yards of a Warwick public school. But I think you're misunderstanding the relationship between property values and public schools. The best public schools in New England are driven by smart and well-educated people buying property in their desired locale, and demanding that their smart children are properly educated. Simply put, they were not attracted to the schools, but rather created them. If I'm wrong, the best public schools in New England would be found in Boston, the home of the priciest real estate. But I can assure you, no one in those expensive Boston homes is sending their kids to the Boston public schools.

    Friday, October 21, 2016 Report this

  • Stella

    John, Sort of right but Boston is inner city commercial. Take a look at Wellesley, Newton, Natick or Needham. If we invest the money the demographics and values will most likely change. I also don't it is a simple cause effect relationship, but it is easy to see the lack of support to the system and effect to the city.

    Saturday, October 22, 2016 Report this

  • JohnStark

    Stella: Wellesley, Newton, Natic, Needham. All expensive communities full of well-educated, bright parents who have a habit of giving birth to equally bright kids. Those bright kids do very well on standardized tests and, Voila, those are identified as "great schools". Again, schools do not create quality communities or well-educated kids. Rather, it's those well-educated parents who flood the schools with smart kids. On the flip side, we could look at Lawrence High School, which was the most expensive school building project ("investment", don't you know) in the history of Massachusetts in exchange for ongoing deplorable academic outcomes. Why? Because parents in Lawrence are not well-educated, something a new $110M high school does little to alter. And over a decade after it's construction, Lawrence remains the poorest city in MA. Warwick already "invests" about $18,000 per student, and fewer than 1 in 10 are deemed to be meeting expectations on the high school level PARCC. If you wish to throw more money at this, fine. But let's not pretend that anything is going to change in an academically measurable manner.

    Thursday, October 27, 2016 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    You don't even have to leave Warwick to see this disparity. Cedar Hills School always scores the best out of all the elementary schools in Warwick. Why? Look at who goes there and who their parents are.

    When there was a gifted program in the Warwick Schools (ALAP) Ceder Hills had a disproportionate number of students involved. Were they more gifted than the poor kids who went to Christoper Rhodes or were their parents pushier and demanded that their spawn were entitled to special treatment.

    Speaking of Christopher Rhodes School, look at the pattern of where school closures and consolidations are happening. It is not necessarily by student population, but which areas will have the whiniest parents who have the school board in their pocket.

    Friday, October 28, 2016 Report this