In my area, the hot topic is a school merger. My school is
in the middle of a merger study with 3 other local districts. This 4-way merger
is well on its way to becoming history making. We have heard that all eyes in
our state are on us. If we were to merge with the other 3 districts, our
student body pre-k-12 would be about 4,700 students! We would have one elementary
school in each town for grades pre-k-4, an “upper elementary” building with
grades 5 and 6 in one town (one of the former high schools), a middle school
with grades 7 and 8 in another town (another former high school), and high
school grades 9-12 in the largest of the four current schools. The fourth current
high school would only be used for district offices and alternative ed.
There are many people on either side of the debate, and it
is getting very heated. Personally, I have only told my view to a few people. I
can see benefits and challenges in both situations (merging or staying as
stand-alone districts), however I am leaning in one direction. But, I am afraid
of stating my opinion and having people attack what I believe. So, I will take
part in discussions, ask questions, etc, but not state my opinion. A select few
know how I really feel!
I am terrified of next school year, whether we merge or not.
Our state continues to cut educational funding, and our budget for next year
looks bleak. If we merge, the new district will lose about 40 teachers, and
this doesn’t include any other positions, like aides, secretaries, etc. If we
don’t merge, each school will certainly lose people as well. When I was hired, I
was hired with a group of about 15 new teachers in one school year (luckily I was
the first hired in the bunch). Each year we have slowly lost a lot of those
teachers to budget cuts, so I am pretty low in the seniority totem pole. Hopefully
the cuts don’t go as far as me!
Each town has had a couple of community forums in November
and December. Our 3rd forum will be next week. We have a community “straw
vote” in January to decide if we will continue on. If it is positive in at
least 3 of the 4 communities, the process will move on to the final community
vote in February. If the merger is voted on, our new district will begin on
July 1, 2012! I can’t believe how fast it will all happen.
My questions for you: have any of you had experience with a
merger? What are your thoughts or opinions on schools merging?
+ Laura +
