Facing a looming $13 million budget shortfall, the Jackson Board of Education is exploring a controversial proposal to close one middle school and merge the district's two high schools. The plan, driven by state aid cuts and declining enrollment, would see Goetz Middle School shut down and potentially sold or rented. McAuliffe Middle School would become the sole upper elementary school for grades 5 and 6, while Jackson Memorial High School would house seventh and eighth graders. Jackson Liberty High School would then serve as the single high school for grades 9-12.
Facing a possible $13 million deficit for the upcoming school year, the Jackson Board of Education is considering a proposal that would close one of the district’s middle schools and combine its two high schools.Superintendent Nicole Pormilli said these state aid cuts coupled with decreased enrollment prompted the district to form a committee to make proposals for the future.
The group ultimately decided the best option would be for the closure and then possible sale or rental of Goetz Middle School. As part of a trickle down effect, the district would then utilize McAuliffe Middle School as its one upper elementary school for all fifth and sixth graders. Jackson Memorial High School would then be used as the district’s one middle school for all seventh and eighth graders. Finally, Jackson Liberty High School would then become the lone high school for students in grades 9-12. Pormilli said the decision to utilize McAuliffe over Goetz was based on the age of the schools and an analysis by architects. Memorial can be better utilized as a middle school, she added. The superintendent said the model proposed Wednesday would lower operational costs by an estimated $8 million, and would create the potential revenue of selling or renting a school building. It was not immediately clear how the plan would affect staff at all the schools involved. But, Baginski said if the district does nothing, it would face the loss of more than 200 positions, numerous programs, a massive increase in class sizes, and no maintenance to facilities or any improvements to existing structures. The board will now consider the proposal and could possibly vote on it as its next meeting at 6 p.m. on Feb. 5 at Jackson Memorial High School. Another public forum will be held at that time, as well. Numerous residents, including parents and students, spoke during Wednesday night’s public forum, bringing up issues such as increased traffic, longer bus ride times and quality of life changes for students. One board member asked if the committee considered the potential cost differential between renting one middle school versus the other. Pormilli said that would be explored and said that while renting could provide a steady stream of revenue, it was unclear how much it would cost the district to act as a landlord of the property. Administrators cited state aid reductions as the reason last year for the closure of the Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School, which had the lowest enrollment of the six elementary schools in the district at 265 students. In addition to closing the school and eliminating courtesy busing, a total of 70 jobs were cut, including an unspecified number of teachers and administrators. District officials said at the time the “vast majority” of the staffing reductions would be via attrition.The school board accepted a $13.1 million bid for the site last month. He added that potential sale or rental of another school property will establish new revenue that the district needs to balance upcoming and future budgets, and said it would permanently reduce operating costs
SCHOOL CLOSURE BUDGET CRISIS JACKSON SCHOOL DISTRICT MERGERS STATE AID CUTS
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