PORT ANGELES — A task force has recommended closing Franklin Elementary School and continuing to offer kindergarten-through-sixth-grade classes at the four remaining elementary schools.
The Port Angeles School District’s Elementary Reorganization Task Force voted Monday to recommend Plan 2 to the School Board, the school district announced Wednesday.
The School Board is expected to make a decision on the recommendation when it meets Monday at 7 p.m. at the Port Angeles Senior and Community Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
In November, the task force released three possible plans for elementary school organization, considered because of reduced state funding and declining enrollment, and took public comment on the alternatives.
If the board approves the recommendation to close 57-year-old Franklin Elementary School at 2505 S. Washington St., it also will decide on a time frame for the closure, said Tina Smith-O’Hara, spokeswoman for the district.
In addition to closing Franklin and keeping the remaining elementary schools as they are, Plan 2, recommended after the task force reviewed more than 100 community responses, would:
■ House all district programs, such as multi-aged community, special needs and early learning, at one of the four elementary schools.
■ Locate special-education classrooms in every school.
■ Consider the future sale of the Fairview Elementary site at 166 Lake Farm Road — a school closed in 2007 — the Franklin Elementary site and the Central Services Building and use the proceeds of the sale to add a third wing onto Jefferson to expand the school’s capacity.
The other proposed plans also would have closed Franklin Elementary but called for converting other schools to “banded” schools, with two K-2 schools and two 3-6 schools.
Consolidation was recommended to minimize operational costs and provide effective educational services.
“This has been a difficult process, to consider closure of one of our elementary schools, but with our continued decreasing enrollment and uncertain economic times, it’s necessary to seriously consider alternative arrangements for our schools,” Superintendent Jane Pryne said in a statement.
The district has lost more than 100 students in the past year, reflecting a trend of declining enrollment that is expected to continue for the next five to 15 years.
Only one of the district’s five elementary schools has more than 400 students in the 2011-2012 school year.
State funding is reduced if enrollment falls below 400 students per school, Pryne said.
Franklin was selected for closure because the building is reaching the end of its serviceable life and because of its proximity to Jefferson Elementary.
In a 2008 evaluation of facilities in the district, Franklin received the lowest condition score of any elementary school.
Modernization would cost almost as much as replacement, the task force said.
Also, Franklin is seven blocks east of Jefferson Elementary, which is one of the newest buildings in the district.
By closing Franklin instead of Hamilton, the second-oldest elementary school, the district maintains an even distribution of neighborhood schools from the east to the west, the recommendation said.
“Keeping four K-6 schools allows for the majority of students to stay in their neighborhood schools for up to seven years,” the task force said in its report.
More information on the task force’s work is available at the district website at www.portangelesschools.org.
Comments on elementary reorganization may be made to the board by email to info@portangelesschools.org or by the mail to the Port Angeles School District, Attn: Board of Directors, 216 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
