PORT TOWNSEND — One thing is certain: An elementary school will close.
But the battle for which one has just begun.
While Superintendent Tom Opstad has released a plan to close Mountain View Elementary and split fourth and fifth grades between Grant Street Elementary and Blue Heron Middle School, several community members disagree that is the best plan.
About 40 people showed up to a public hearing about the proposal on Monday night.
A few supported the proposal, and several people spoke against it.
Port Townsend School Board member Bobby DuBois said the only thing that was certain was that not everyone was going to be happy no matter the decision.
School bond
“Really, the only way everyone would be happy, from a non-tax view, is if the bond had passed,” DuBois said.
“But the biggest issue for us right now is that we don’t have enough money.”
Money is the reason for closing a school — something that would have happened no matter the outcome of a bond election.
Opstad said the district simply can’t continue to operate two elementary facilities.
Twice in 2008, the district missed a super-majority in elections that would have financed bonds to pay for constructing a new school on the Grant Street campus to accommodate all the district’s elementary students.
But with those elections failing, the district is faced with having to make changes without the new school buildings.
As it stands now, Mountain View Elementary’s last day of school this year will be its last day for the foreseeable future.
After closing the school, the district will restructure grades between the remaining elementary school, Grant Street and Blue Heron Middle School.
Grant Street Elementary will house approximately 440 students in grades kindergarten through fourth, and Blue Heron will accommodate about 420 students in grades fifth through eighth.
The district will need to install new portable buildings at Grant Street to make room for classrooms and a cafeteria.
The total cost of the structures is estimated to be around $450,000.
To pay for that, the school district is looking at selling land between Grant and Sheridan streets and either leasing or selling the Mountain View property.
Opstad said the district must reduce operating costs by more than $500,000 a year to balance the budget.
A consultant informed the School Board that one way to achieve that is to close a school.
On Monday night, residents balked at that figure and asked the district to see the math.
“Before we have a more concrete proposal we should not close a campus,” said Jaime Barnes, a Port Townsend resident.
“Due to the failure of the bond, we are being forced into stopgap measures with no figures on the costs and savings of the process.
“The community needs to see the math; we need to see the numbers.”
The School Board promised to give the work from their long-range planning committee to anyone who attends a board meeting in the coming weeks.
Opstad said the decision to go with Grant Street over Mountain View came down to capacity.
Grant Street can house 320 students, while Mountain View can hold 288.
Also, the Grant Street campus already has utilities laid out for portable structures to be installed.
The district is looking at a dire financial situation in the coming years because of enrollment decreases.
Each student the district loses will cost it a little more than $5,000 in state funding, the superintendent said.
“If we lose 100 students districtwide, that is half a million dollars we don’t have anymore,” Opstad said.
The district now has 1,394 students enrolled full time. By 2010, that number is expected to drop to 1,270.
In 2013, the expected enrollment is 1,124.
The dwindling enrollment — and the loss of money that comes with it — are the prime reasons for closing the school, Opstad said.
Frank Benson asked board members to consider more than just numbers when making a final decision.
“The Mountain View site is superior for a few reasons,” Benson said.
“The facility lends itself more to the children.”
Benson and others cited the larger gym, larger cafeteria space, superior playground area, more sunshine and the pool at Mountain View as reasons for keeping the location open.
Tom Thiersch, a community member who consistently attends school board meetings, said he was convinced the Mountain View closure was the correct decision after listening to the presentations at the board meetings.
“I am in favor of the plan as it currently stands,” Thiersch said.
“While it’s incomplete, it is a plan.”
Thiersch asked only one thing of the school board on Monday.
“Please do not sell the school,” he said.
“Selling the land is not a good idea under any circumstances.
“If you sell that land, you’ll never get it back.”
After an hour and a half of comments, Board Chairwoman Beth Young told people a decision was still a way off.
“At this point we will be gathering all the comments made and come to a decision on the issue,” she said, ” But there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Opstad said he expected a final decision on which school to close to be made in March.
Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
