DUXBURY — Harwood Unified Union school board members took a first look Wednesday at a deep dive analysis prepared by administrators on the final round of scenarios for consolidating the district’s schools.
Every scenario on the table would involve closing at least one of the district’s five elementary schools.
The analysis found closing both the Fayston and Moretown elementaries and consolidating all students in grades 5-8 at Crossett Brook Middle School could save about $1.7 million in annual operating costs. The analysis, prepared by Superintendent Brigid Nease, found closing only Fayston and putting all 7th and 8th graders together at Crossett Brook would save a little under $1.3 annually.
But officials don’t simply want to close buildings. They also want to renovate Harwood Union High — to the tune of $15 million to $30 million — and spend anywhere between $7 million to $11 million on work at the district’s other schools. Annual debt service on the high school project could range anywhere between $1.1 million to nearly $2.3 million; for the rest of the schools, between $490,000 and $770,000.
Harwood isn’t the only district having these conversations. With schools facing a slew of deferred maintenance needs, school officials, especially in merged districts, are pairing talk of renovations with discussions about shuttering buildings.
Officials argue that closing under-utilized facilities will give districts the breathing room to modernize learning spaces, and expand and equalize programming across schools. In Harwood, for example, administrators note that the scenario that sees both the Fayston and Moretown elementaries close would also allow the district’s child care and afterschool program, currently housed in Moretown, to serve children from all Harwood towns. The extra room could also allow for new special education programming.
Nease urged school board members at the conclusion of her presentation Wednesday to pivot away from the old approach of cutting programming year after year to hold the line on taxes as enrollment steadily declines.
“We can adopt new thinking. We can spend money to make money. We can believe that if we build it they will come,” she said.
But the redesign is being met with concern and anger, particularly in Fayston and Moretown, the two towns most likely to see their schools close. (Scenarios under consideration could also see either the Waitsfield or Warren elementaries close.)
“We do not understand why the HUUSD is considering closure of the Moretown Elementary School. The School is thriving,” Moretown Selectboard members wrote to the school board earlier this summer.
A packed house attended Wednesday’s meeting. One woman wore a bright orange shirt with “SAVE OUR SCHOOLS” emblazoned on the front in bold type.
Theresa Membrino, a Harwood school board member from Fayston, said there had been much talk of community “perspective,” but little consideration of the possible real-world ramifications.
“Where is our analysis of community impact?” she asked.
The school board hopes to settle on a path forward by mid-November, so that they can put a bond proposal before voters on Town Meeting Day in March.
School officials are soliciting input via an online survey and in-person at community forums scheduled for Oct. 1 at the high school and Oct. 7 at Crossett Brook Middle School. The school board is also considering scheduling additional forums in the district’s valley towns.
