|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
February 11, 2003Board votes to close Frederic ElementaryDistrict is anticipating its numbers to drop from the current count of 2,077 to as low as 2,023By DAN SANDERSONRecord-Eagle staff writer GRAYLING - Michelle Stanley and other Frederic Elementary parents said they fear the repercussions the Crawford AuSable School District will face after the school board voted to close the elementary building Monday. "It's a big loss and it's a big loss for the community - but they made their choice," Stanley said after the school board voted 6-1 to mothball the school next year because of budget woes. School administrators recommend closing the school because the district is facing a $220,000 budget deficit for the current school year. The shortfall could balloon to $1.5 million next year if a projected 11 percent drop in state funding holds true, said Crawford AuSable School Superintendent Milli Haug. The district is anticipating its student numbers to drop from the current student count of 2,077 to as low as 2,023 for the 2003-04 school year. Haug said the district is down 15 students from its count last month due to a high transition of families in the district. "About 25 percent of the students we start with are not the same students we end up with," Haug told the board Monday. Parents did not speak out against the proposal during the meeting Monday, but school officials said they have received several phone calls, letters and e-mails. Meetings on the issue were well attended, they said. Still, Lori Johnson, a parent of a third-grader at Frederic Elementary and a Grayling Middle School teacher, was tearful after the board vote Monday. "I think they should have taken another month and looked solidly at what is coming down from the state," Johnson said. "I'm disappointed that they are going to take the heart of the community out." Students at the school, which has a current enrollment of 106, will be transferred to AuSable Primary and Grayling Elementary schools next year. Frederic Elementary is about 10 miles north of Graying. Stanley said she believes more parents in Frederic will home school their children and has even heard talk of establishing a charter school or breaking off from the Crawford AuSable district. The school districts were merged in the late 1960s. Stanley said parents had also proposed cuts in administration or across-the-board cuts from each school building in the district. "That would have made it a little easier and one school wouldn't have had to take so much of a cut," she said. Frederic Elementary has six teachers and a special education teacher. Haug said at least two retiring teachers will not have to be replaced because the district will already have lower class sizes in the third grade next year. District officials hope that because of attrition, retirements and resignations, they will not have to lay off teachers. Board Trustee Jim Toxin, who attended the Frederic school, cast the sole no vote Monday. He called the issue "troubling" but declined further comment following the vote. Board Treasurer John Pilon said he did not want to see the district dig itself into financial trouble and does not believe students with special needs will be hurt by the move. "Our district is just not that large or unfriendly where kids get lost in the system," Pilon said. He said the board's decision could be revisited in a year. Haug said district officials will be meeting with students and parents immediately and taking a number of steps to help with the transition. Crawford AuSable is not the only school district in the region looking at closing schools. Gaylord Community Schools, which is facing a $2.5 million budget shortfall next year, is considering closing the Elmira School. Traverse City Area Public Schools, which closed East Bay Elementary last April, is facing a $4.5 million budget deficit next year. Traverse City Superintendent James Pavelka so far is not recommending closing another elementary building.
|
|
