St. Mark Elementary School was host to the February 22 meeting of the Williamsburg County School District Board of Trustees meeting. The location couldn’t have been timed better, considering less than a week prior the budget committee discussed at length the possibility of closing one of several schools, and St Mark is on that short list. Though the agenda didn’t include that particular topic, two gentlemen had their say during the public comment portion of the meeting.
The Reverend Leroy McClary posed several questions concerning St. Mark and argued that other schools were, in his opinion, in far worse condition. Anthony Chandler asked that the board consider the effect moving the children to a larger school. Board Chair Norman Gamble stated that the board would respond to their requests within 10-14 days. And as he did at the meeting the week before, Gamble reassured everyone that before a decision is made, a public forum will be arranged, but a forum may never come to fruition, let alone a decision, as evident during a meeting two days later.
In that meeting the board continued to vacillate between which facility would close first or if at all. Much discussion also focused on the relocation of the students if a consolidation occurred and the Middle School Concept, a new idea being considered by the board may also play into the decision. Middle School Concept involves a common group students receiving instruction from a team of teachers. It is designed to address the needed of 6,7, and 8 grade special needs students. One proposal would be to absorb some of the students into Hemingway High School because Hemingway Elementary School is near student capacity.
Other issues such as housing the students, the utilization of other schools, implementing mobile units or converting weight rooms and science labs into classrooms were included in the dialogue. But according to board chair Norman Gamble the idea of a Middle School Concept may very well remain just that, a concept. “The only thing we’re here to do is come to some type of resolve, relative to Middle School Concept, relative to budgeting, and see where we need to cut, or if we cut at all and what we need to do to try and balance our budget, maybe not for 2010-11 but for 2011-12.” said Gamble. Gamble asked Chief Finance Officer Christine Green to speak on how the district stands financially. “In terms of whether we close the school or don’t close the school, or whether we are in any financial trouble, when is our problem coming?” asked Gamble. “Is it 2011, is it 2012, in terms of real problems?”
Green’s response was straightforward. “The stimulus funds will run out next year, as far as we know,” she said. “I feel it is safe to say we can make it through next year but after that we will be facing major cuts because people are paid out of the stimulus fund and once those funds dry up, they’ll have to go back into the 100 account which will not support those numbers.” Gamble continued his questioning. “So from a finance perspective, your best opinion is that 2011, we’ll be ok if we did not close any schools?” Green agreed but added that either a building has to be closed or staff cuts would be inevitable. “In any case we’re going to have to make staff cuts, but those cuts will be deeper if we do not close a school.”
Interim Superintendent had stated earlier that the decision the board makes will drive many other decisions such as determining academic programs, distribution of federal funding and the budget itself but at the end of the session it was still unclear what the board will decide. The board will meet on March 2 where they plan to make a recommendation on schools closings and the Middle School Concept.