MONROE, CT — Members of the Board of Education’s Facilities Ad Hoc Committee went over six options to resolve the town’s school space needs amid growing student enrollment Wednesday night, before whittling the list down to two.
Among members’ input, one thing was clear: the town will not close down the Monroe Elementary School building, which is the oldest in the district, as well as the first consolidated school after the era of one-room schoolhouses.
Superintendent Joseph Kobza said there was consideration to close Monroe Elementary and sell the property, because it is the smallest school and its heating system is problematic.
Tim Piedmont, a parent serving on the committee, said if the town were to sell the land, it may need it again in the future.
“Chalk Hill is an example of closing something that should never have been closed,” Steve Kirsch, a committee member who serves on the Board of Finance, added.
“I would be leery of selling a piece of property right now,” Board of Education and Ad Hoc Committee Chairman David Ferris said. “The town needs fields.”
The committee has been working to come up with a plan to present to the Board of Education, while giving the board time to review and present it to the public for residents’ input — all in an effort to attain the approvals needed to apply for financial reimbursement from the state of Connecticut in June.
During Wednesday’s meeting in the Masuk High School media center, Ferris told committee members he wanted to make sure he wasn’t placing unrealistic expectations on them in a push to meet the filing deadline.
If more time is needed to come up with the best proposal, Ferris said the town could apply the following June instead.
Michael Ganino, a parent serving on the committee, said other towns are also trying to secure state funding, which could eventually dry up.
“That’s why I don’t want to push it back another year,” said Jerry Stevens, a school board and committee member. “We need to make a choice, so we can sit down with the community and get their input.”
The two options are known as “B” and “F1.”
In one scenario, Monroe Elementary continues to operate as an elementary school and in the other the building serves other district needs.
Option B calls for bringing Chalk Hill back as a school for grades 5 and 6, keeping Monroe Elementary school as a pre-K through grade 4 school, and making both Stepney and Fawn Hollow grades K-4 elementary schools.
Among the pros:
- With a middle school campus area, no more middle schoolers would go to Masuk.
- Curriculum at the middle school will be the same for all students in grades 5-8 with no STEM differences/nuances.
- Building construction can happen without disruption to any other school.
- It satisfies the K-12 capacity needs.
- Keeps current districting.
- Works with new certification, which allows teachers to teach their subject from grade 4-12, rather than 7-12, and elementary teachers can now teach kindergarten as well.
- It helps Masuk, because STEM is back at Jockey Hollow. It helps with more space for the alternative school with possibly more programming for students with needs.
- Less population in all schools — supports student learning with a better ratio of teachers to students (smaller schools research).
- Excellent foundation of Chalk Hill gym/auditorium – nice school configuration.
- Developmentally nice to have grade 5 and 6 together, and 7 and 8 on the middle school campus.
- Chalk Hill and Jockey Hollow could be one bus run — elementary bus runs are aligned.
- Chalk Hill has a good outdoor area for students/recess. Could offer sixth-grade recess, which is not presently happening.
Among the cons:
- A major renovation to reopen Chalk Hill.
- Additional operating expenses by having a sixth building.
- Doesn’t address all the needs noted in the report at the individual buildings (library/cafe at Jockey Hollow, small bathroom etc.), so may still need renovations in other buildings.
- Adds more transitions for students (four schools rather than three).
- Would limit Chalk Hill space to Jockey Hollow.
- Could create logistical issues at drop off — Fawn Hollow, Chalk Hill and Jockey Hollow.
- Curriculum issue with sixth grade possible using something different.
Option F1
Option F1 entails reopening Chalk Hill as a new intermediate school for grades 4-6, continuing to use Monroe Elementary for the Board of Education offices, IT and the pre-K program, while also housing a new therapeutic day program and the alternative high school.
Stepney and Fawn Hollow would be grade K-3 schools, with Jockey Hollow housing grades 7-8 and Masuk continuing to be for grades 9-12.
Among the pros:
- A new building (major renovation of Chalk Hill) experienced by all of the students in the district, rather than one new elementary school while the rest are older.
- Age configuration.
- Shared curriculum and staff/resources.
- Pre-K is a home school.
- Same schedule/bussing for elementary and middle/intermediate schools. Good for after school grade level meetings.
- New state certification changes can support staffing at any building (K-6 or 4-12).
- Grade 4-6 is more time in one building than a 5-6 school.
Among the cons:
- 950ish kids is a lot of kids.
- The community reaction of closing Monroe Elementary School as an elementary school.
- Pre-K in both buildings is a staffing split.
- Field space/recess space for intermediate school when sharing space with Jockey Hollow.
- Traffic patterns: does the district need a new traffic loop?
- Parents who have kids in both a K-3 at Stepney and a 4-6 student.
- K-3 and 4-6 are less time to build community than a K-4 or 5.
With either of these two options, both leave out needed improvements consultants identified for all of the district’s buildings and campuses. Outside of the main building project, Kobza said those improvements could be done over the course of 10, 12 or 15 years.
Next steps
Kobza and Assistant Superintendent of Schools Sheila Casinelli worked with Mike Lawlor, manager of All-Star Transportation’s Monroe bus terminal, on the logistics and costs of providing busses and routes for the various school space options.
Now they will seek the input of administrators for the two remaining options favored by the committee, while Michelle H. Miller, a project manager and architect with Silver Petrucelli & Associates, the consulting firm hired by the district, fleshes out more details, including the financial impacts of the options.
The committee’s next meeting will be held in the Masuk media center on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m.
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