Consolidation deliberations continue
On Saturday, consolidation group members who don’t want schools to close met and created a recommendation they plan to present to the entire working group on Monday. Members of the group say closing schools isn’t the answer. “School closings and school consolidations cause all kinds of problems in the district,” says Cordley parent, Chuck Epp. “The cost of closing, far outweigh the benefits that we can get from closing schools.”
On Sunday night, those for consolidating schools came together to find a solution of their own. “I think it’s really hard to provide equitable services when you have such variations in school populations, as far as size, says consolidation group member, Dawn Shew.
Those opposed to consolidating say every plan the consolidation group has considered would create increased class sizes. They say boundary changes across the district would have to be made, and the schools would be overcrowded.
“The ones who are with us and think we can't close schools to do that basically agree that we need more resources for staffing,” says Epp. “We just don't think we get enough resources from closing schools to do it.”
Members opposing consolidation say the district can afford to keep schools open. According to group members, the funds are there to do it. They say it’s only a matter of how the funds are allocated.
Both groups say they agree a bond issue is the answer and now they’re trying to find a way to get there.