Whitingham and Wilmington board members met with facilities committee members Tuesday evening to discuss the next steps toward a facilities solution. Board members had hoped that an economic stimulus package currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate might mean a windfall for the two communities in the form of federal school construction aid. But facilities committee chair Phil Taylor told board members that the federal money will be funneled through state agencies and departments. “And the department of education has been arguing that the money needs to be used more wisely for consolidation,” Taylor said.
Last year, the state declared a moratorium on state school construction funding, with an exception for school consolidation. Taylor suggested the consolidation requirement was likely to remain in force, even with the projected $77 million in federal school construction money.
Taylor said he was looking for guidance from school board members as to the range of consolidation options the committee should consider. “Would the communities reject a consolidated K-12 program?” he asked.
The question took board members and committee members by surprise, and their first reaction was to question the wisdom of scrapping the decade-long effort to upgrade or replace the high school in Wilmington. “If we put something together in that fashion, we’re looking at at least three years, maybe two if we push it.”
“If you’re looking for something quick, why aren’t you moving ahead with what you have,” asked Whitingham board member Jack Kincella, “rather than opening a whole new can of worms?”
But as the discussion moved around the table, the concept gained support, and three ideas emerged. Each idea included closing one of the schools in Wilmington, either Deerfield Valley Elementary School or Twin Valley High School, and redistributing students to the remaining schools, both of which would need some additional construction to accommodate the change.
Board member Ed Metcalfe also suggested Halifax could be invited to join Whitingham and Wilmington. “Whitingham School, Deerfield Valley Elementary School, and especially Halifax school are under-utilized,” Metcalfe said. “If there’s a way to rearrange things in a way that reduces the cost, are the communities ready to move these kids around?”
Metcalfe said the conventional wisdom is that parents of elementary students wouldn’t move their kids out of town. But he said the conventional wisdom may be more myth than fact, and that the two communities are already comfortable “exchanging” their kids. “I’ve asked a lot of parents about it,” Metcalfe said. “Most said they wouldn’t mind it, but probably other people would. But that’s what everyone is saying.”
Elementary school parents in the room appeared to agree. Committee member Scott Reed said “Once they’re on the bus, they don’t care where they get off. After a year, they’d be used to it.”
Whitingham board member Cheree Dix said kids would adapt faster than parents. “My kids would be so excited to get on the bus to go to school,” she said. “They walk now. If we have buildings that need to be filled, if we have a building we need to get rid of, then move the kids around and as long as we provide them with a secure and happy environment, they’ll adjust.”
But Wilmington board member Dennis Richter said the consolidation could be a tougher sell in Wilmington. “They like their elementary school there,” he said.
Wilmington board member Jerry Gorman said the consolidation could work with just Whitingham and Wilmington, using DVES and Whitingham School and eliminating the Twin Valley High School building, which is in need of substantial repair. “You could have the middle school and high school here (at Whitingham School), the elementary school at DVES,” Gorman said, “and get rid of the high school. That’s where all the problems are.”
Several committee members and board members said there were several criteria a school facilities proposal must meet to gain the support of taxpayers. Facilities committee members Almira Aekus and Adam Grinold said any school proposal should be part of a comprehensive plan for the future needs of the district. “Even if it’s just a fix, we need to know where we’ll be in 10 years time,” Grinold said. “This is what we see happening, and this is how we get there.”
Kincella said any proposal had to offer savings to taxpayers, and must take advantage of any state or federal aid available. “With the economy the way it is, I can’t imagine supporting something with their own money without seeing some kind of savings,” he said. “We’ve got to come up with something that shows consolidation, something that pays for itself to a large degree.”
Reed said he thought people would be inclined to support a plan that would include improvements to the remaining schools in each of the towns. “Don’t you think it would go over better if we had a $2 million addition here and a $2 million addition in Wilmington?”
But other board members weren’t as enthusiastic about the idea. A number of board members expressed doubt that the consolidation and a new facilities plan could be achieved in time to take advantage of any federal money that may be available for consolidation through the state. Wilmington board member Tom Manton said changing strategies from the current options, which include renovations and construction at the current high school, or new construction and an addition to the Whitingham site, could raise the ire of voters.
Wilmington voters, noted board member Leitha Cipriano, had chosen the first option overwhelmingly in a survey on Election Day in November. “They said they wanted to keep the high school in the community,” she said. The Wilmington option was the least expensive of three options presented. The Whitingham option was the most expensive, but because it would have eliminated the current high school building, it would have been eligible for state aid. A third option, to “flip-flop” the high school and middle school gained little support in either town.
Whitingham board member Dwight Williams expressed his disbelief that some board members were hesitant to explore more consolidation. “If there’s a strategy on the table that says we can use the existing buildings, move kids around, consolidate, and save some money, why is new construction even on the table?”
Twin Valley High School Principal Frank Spencer said he thought it was inevitable that Wilmington will lose one of its two schools. The question, he said, is whether high school students will continue to go to a school in the valley, or if they’ll travel to a school outside the area. “Twin Valley has proven that you can get better education with consolidation, and we can do that with K through six,” he said. “If we can come up with a K though 12 Twin Valley that reduces cost and improves education, I think we should do it.”
Aekus suggested asking voters in the two towns to weigh in on the issue at Town Meeting with a nonbinding motion under “other business.” “Get a feeling from both towns,” she said. “It would be a little bit of discussion, but it’s worth discussing.”
The board agreed to work on the language for a Town Meeting question.
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