School Consolidation Public Information Session New Hartford Board of Education

Agenda Overview and Motivation History Options, Discussion, and Why Costs, Savings, and Benefits Other Options

Meeting Purpose Present background and information, provide status Gather public feedback and ideas Answer questions Seek public input as we move toward a BOE recommendation

Overview and Rationale New Hartford currently maintains 3 elementary school buildings BOE is considering consolidation of the two primary schools Budgetary pressures Rising cost of education Decreasing enrollment Cost savings + Educational benefits

Enrollment Projection* YearProjctd.Actual *Projection based off a report

History 2012/2013 Consolidation Task Force Concluded that it did not make sense to pursue consolidation at that time Enrollment was not quite low enough at the time A $58,000 expense would be incurred if prior to the year Committee adjourned, with the understanding that it would likely make sense to consolidate in the future The BOE long range planning subcommittee reopened this topic

Options Close Bakerville permanently Close NHES permanently Keep Bakerville open, moving K-1 to NHES and 2 to Antolini Do nothing

Proposal Long range planning subcommittee (LRPS) recommends: Moving all K and 1st grade to NHES Moving all 2nd grade to Ann Antolini Pre-school moves to Bakerville Central Office moves from Town Hall to Bakerville Bakerville would remain open as a school building

Bakerville Ann Antolini Town Hall NHES

Why not close Bakerville entirely? Reason #1: If closed, there would be significant costs to reopen the school at a later time If Bakerville is closed as a school building, there will be additional costs incurred to bring the building back up to code to re-open it as a school at a future date By keeping the school open, we are “grandfathered” Although there is no documented indication that there is going to be an influx of children in the foreseeable future, this is insurance against the additional cost to the town

Why not close Bakerville entirely? Reason #2: When asked, the town did not express an alternate use for the building The LRPS approached Board of Selectmen members, specifically to inquire about potential alternate uses for the building by the town The response was that they did not see a specific town need for the building If the BOF/BOS indicates that they would like to repurpose the building for town use, the BOE is willing to consider vacating, and will communicate the risks in doing so at that time

Overview: Costs, Savings, and Benefits Savings - Estimated $66,000 Annual Savings due to decreased custodial, nurse, and admin assistant staff Costs – No additional annual cost, estimated one-time costs of $14,500 for moving costs and wiring upgrade Non-Financial Benefits Single location for 2 nd Grade and K/1st grade Teachers would facilitate collaboration and improve efficiency for specialized staff Students will have a richer educational experience with additional peers at each grade level The principal for the primary grades would be more effective being in the building the entire day

Estimated Annual Savings DescriptionEstimated Annual Savings Administrative Assistant (Reduced by 0.5 FTE) $19,000 Nurse (Reduced by 0.5 FTE) – still need to maintain 0.5 FTE for preschool $18,000 Custodian (Reduced by 0.5 FTE) $23,000 Computer Lab licenses and Library resources $6,100 TOTAL$66,100

Estimated Costs DescriptionEstimated Annual Savings Rewiring at NHES for teachers’ room and workroom $3,000 Estimated moving expenses$11,500 TOTAL$14,500

Bus Routes Current bus routes average mins, with some as low as 35, some as high as 55 New proposed routes would maintain same number of buses, with only an average 3-5 minute increase in bus times Although bus stops would change, estimated maximum bus route time would not change

Other Options or Considerations

Option: Close Bakerville If Bakerville were to be closed as a school: Central office would remain at town hall Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1 st grade would reside at NHES 2 nd grade moves to Antolini Concerns (although, overall, this option is viable): NHES would be at capacity. If NHES needed even 1 more classroom or other room, we would lose our conference room, leaving NHES with no place for PPTs or other meetings Aforementioned costs associated with reopening Bakerville as a school NHES is on a flood plain, thus cannot expand outward NHES lacks structural elements necessary to add a second floor

Option: Close NHES If NHES were to be closed as a school: Central office would remain at town hall Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1 st grade move to Bakerville 2 nd grade moves to Antolini Concerns: NHES has more rooms than Bakerville, thus space would be even tighter than if closing Bakerville Bakerville is a wooden structure, more prone to fire damage, limited sprinkler systems Either Library or Media room would need to become the Art/Music room

Option: Move Grades 5/6 to NHES The LRPS investigated the option of moving K-4 to Antolini and moving 5-6 to NHES Some have raised apprehension about having 2 nd graders in the same building as 6 th graders Concerns with this option: There is not enough room at NHES for our current 4 th and 5 th grades. Additional cost incurred to renovate bathrooms at NHES to be proper size for older children Not deemed enough of an issue to merit the additional cost

Questions