Committee Says Closing Schools Not Feasible

Closing Darcey or Chapman schools next September would crowd classrooms in the remaining elementary schools past their breaking point and could cost more than it saves.

That was the conclusion of the Board of Education’s Finance Committee Thursday night after weeks of examining the issue as it prepares a ‘worst-case scenario’ budget.

“The space just does not exist to make that drastic a change happen,” said Finance Committee Chairman Tony Perugini.

The committee did not take the school closing option completely off the table, however, saying the board would know more once it gets the budget back from the Town Council. Other proposed cost-saving measures include eliminating extracurricular activities, raising student activity fees and shedding dozens of teaching positions.

 “It’s too premature to recommend anything at this point,” Perugini said.

The committee looked at three options: closing Darcey and moving kindergarten classes back into neighborhood schools; closing Chapman and distributing students among the remaining elementary schools; and phasing out grade levels at Chapman.

Perugini said all three would push class sizes far beyond what the administration is comfortable with and would require major reconfigurations of classrooms: moving bookshelves, desks and tables and “packing kids into a classroom.”

 “We could pack 30-plus students in a classroom if we had to, but that changes the dynamic drastically,” he said.

He said relocating the district’s Early Intervention Center, which is housed at Darcey, would require a “significant” capital expenditure that would need to go to a referendum. The EIC consists of seven classrooms that must be equipped for special-needs preschoolers.

“Trying to get that approved and voted on by fall is just not going to happen,” Perugini said.

 While enrollment is going down in the district, it has not dropped significantly enough to warrant closing a school, the committee found. Perugini said enrollment was projected to drop by 100 students this year, but actually only dropped by about 30 students.

 He said it would make more sense to revisit closing a school in five years, when enrollment is expected to drop by about 500 students.

The school board approved Superintendent of Schools Greg Florio’s requested $3 million budget increase in January, but based on what it has received in past years, the board has been preparing for a possible $2 million reduction by the Town Council.

Last week, Town Manager Michael Milone released his budget, which reduced Florio’s request by $700,000 due to savings in medical benefit costs. The reduction is not expected to affect educational programs. The Town Council votes on the plan in April.

Perugini said he is still hopeful about getting concessions from the teachers’ union, noting that negotiations are ongoing.