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SAD 3 ponders closing school

Superintendent: Enrollment, not budget, to drive recommendation to voters

By Amy Calder acalder@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

UNITY — Doug Fox knows the value of a small community school.

His four children went through Unity Elementary School, a place that not only educated children, but also served as a community gathering place that hosted town meetings, basketball leagues and other activities.

“One of the things I appreciated most about Unity Elementary was that every teacher knew every child, and the rules were the same throughout the whole school,” Fox said Friday. “It was very consistent. It was a very nurturing place for a kid going through.”

As much as he values the benefits of a small school, however, Fox said he realizes that districts must reassess their buildings and programs to best fit the needs of children — and the outcome may include closing a school.

Such assessment is especially critical in a tough economy when budgets are tight, school funding is uncertain and student enrollments are decreasing.

“It’s difficult, but those kinds of conversations have to take place,” Fox said. “It would be irresponsible not to do it. We recognize the need to do it.”

Unity Elementary students were moved to other schools; the school now serves preschool children.

School Administrative District 3, which includes eight schools in 11 towns, is embarking on just such an exploration of how best to configure its facilities and educate children, without any one school in mind for possible closure, according to School Board Chairwoman Katherine Eickenberg.

The School Board on Sept. 7 will discuss what kind of information must be gathered, who will gather it and what work must be done by the board before making a decision to possibly close a school.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mount View High School.

“We have a number of committees that will all have a piece of figuring out the information we need to put together to look at this issue,” Eickenberg said Friday.

She said the process will not be driven by budget concerns; rather, the board will look at current and projected school enrollment, as well issues related to improving education.

“We’ll start looking at the long-range view as well as short-range.”

Any decision to close a school ultimately is made by voters, who will have a chance to ask questions and voice concerns at public forums.

“We look at this as an opportunity to also examine our education model, and maybe our education model could and should be improved,” Eickenberg said. “And maybe that will have something to say about how we consolidate or reconfigure.

“So we’re going to be looking at a lot of different pieces of this puzzle, and one of the pieces is, how do we teach kids effectively, and should we think about that as we look at moving kids around?”

Eickenberg said school officials have been discussing the idea of exploring consolidation and reconfiguration for some time, but the School Board on Aug. 16 took a formal 11-0 vote to begin the process of looking at the possibility of closing a school.

Board member Najean Shedyak of Unity said Friday she favors starting such a process because it is good to have as much information as possible.

“We want to make sure everyone’s needs are met,” Shedyak said.

The district’s new superintendent, Heather Perry, said she agrees with Eickenberg that it is important to go through the process with a focus on educational programming for children instead of the fiscal aspect.

“Any discussion of school closure is not an easy discussion,” Perry said.

She should know. As a superintendent four years in School Union 60 based in Greenville, Perry went through the process of closing the two-room Shirley Elementary School — the last such school in mainland Maine.

“I’m aware of the process and how important it is,” she said. “As Katherine (Eickenberg) said, if you’re going to do it and do it right, you focus on educational programs for kids and make that your priority.”

Perry, who started as superintendent July 1, also is former superintendent of SAD 12 in Jackman. She said SAD 3 is becoming Regional School Unit 3 — the same school system with a different name.

Besides Unity, the district includes Thorndike, Liberty, Freedom, Brooks, Waldo, Monroe, Troy, Montville, Knox and Jackson. The district schools are Mount View Elementary, Mount View Middle and Mount View High schools, in the new school complex; Unity Elementary School; Troy Elementary School; Monroe Elementary School; Morse Memorial School in Brooks; and Walker Elementary School in Liberty.

The district has combined some classes that were small. Unity Elementary students have moved to other schools, and Unity now houses Head Start and Broadreach (pre-school) classes. Broadreach also has been instituted at Walker Elementary.

Eickenberg said she thinks overall enrollment is declining, but it is particularly evident in the elementary schools. Last year, grades three and four at Unity were moved to Mount View Elementary; this year, grades one and two are being moved to Troy and Mount View, where more students are housed and more resources are available.