School Closure Vote Approaches

Written by Tom Allen | 03 March 2010

On March 9, Harpswell voters will decide the fate of West Harpswell School by a special referendum question which reads: "Do you favor authorizing the Board of Directors of School Administrative District No. 75 to close the West Harpswell School?" Also included is the amount Harpswell would have to pay SAD 75 should it decide to keep the school open: $219,030.60.
On February 25, 2010, the school board hosted an open hearing at Harpswell Islands School to discuss the proposed closure. Understandably, residents were reluctant to speak in favor of the closure. Most who attended supported keeping the school open, despite the added cost it would entail.

The Argument for Closure
In his opening remarks summarizing the school board's argument for closing the school, superintendent Michael Wilhelm referred to a 2008 community forum on Education in the Twenty-First Century held at town hall in Harpswell. Wilhelm said that the board had heard from parents who expressed concerns about the fractionalization of school resources and "the ability of children in the smallest elementary schools to meet like peers, and work with their friends that they have across the two peninsulas."
In early 2009, Linda White Hall served SAD 75 workgroup which studied the feasibility of closing WHS. Hall says she was surprised by Wilhelm's statement, which in effect implied that the board had begun the school closure process in response to Harpswell residents' concerns. Hall says the district had originally justified closing WHS due to declining enrollment, which had led to a fractionalizing of teachers and other staffing resources, such as music, PE, art, and guidance counseling.
"They saw consolidation as a way of providing a whole resource to each student. But as we heard, they will cut resources from what the schools get now," Hall says.

Educational Resources
Referring to an SAD 75 handout parent Jeffrey Slocum pointed out that Harpswell students in a combined school will receive fewer resources than they do in their existing schools. He used the example of physical education, where WHS students now receive 1.5 days of PE and HIS students receive 2.5 days, or a total of 4 days. In a combined school, students would receive 2.5 days.
Wilhelm admitted that Harpswell would receive fewer resources in a combined school than it had with two schools. However, Wilhelm said that in order to provide the same level of participation in PE as other schools in the district, Harpswell schools had in fact been over-resourced.
"Our experience has been that in the 200-student schools we can provide the students with the same amount of physical education with a half-time person as we currently do now between the two schools," said Wilhelm.
Slocum then asked what would happen at WHS if it stayed open: would it receive the same amount of resources-teachers and staff-as before, or would those resources be cut to make them proportionate to other schools in SAD 75?
"If the school stays open, the resources must be proportionate," Wilhelm said.

Transportation
Ann Standridge, a former teacher at HIS, questioned the equity of transporting students such a long distance from Harpswell Neck.
According to figures provided by the district, in a combined school 42% of students from the Neck would have a ride of more than 30 minutes, while 6% of students from the Islands would have a ride of more than 30 minutes.
Standridge asserted that, especially for the youngest children, long bus rides negatively affect student performance, placing those students at a disadvantage.
"I expect also that classroom teachers will see a difference in behavior," Standridge added.
Wilhelm responded that the district had looked at that issue and concluded that it was not a problem.
"We see no relationship right now between the results those kids are getting who are on the buses longer than the results those kids are getting who are on the bus for a shorter time," Wilhelm said.
However, when pressed by resident Dorothy Rosenberg after the meeting, Wilhelm admitted that the district had no data on the effect of long bus rides on elementary school students, only on high school students.
In previous handouts, the district stated that they calculated bus ride lengths by using driver estimates. At the hearing, Wilhelm said that the bus company drove the routes on a Saturday, making stops along the way, and that no ride would be longer than 55 minutes.
Rosenberg says that that method of estimating the bus ride is "completely unrealistic."
"They did a dry run under ideal conditions in ideal weather," Rosenberg says. "We've done it, with real conditions, and with students. The only way to keep it under 55 minutes is to have only 15 stops. There's no way to come up with 55 minutes under real conditions and following the speed limit."
About the length of the bus ride, co-chair of Friends for Harpswell Education Robert McIntyre adds, "That makes it clear that there is no single school location [in Harpswell] that makes sense, at the moment."
This was a theme picked up on by another resident. Rick Daniel asked if the district had considered building a centrally-located school in Harpswell. Wilhelm responded that it had not been considered, but could be.
"Equitability in geography is something sorely lacking for children at the further end of Harpswell," Daniel said.

Savings or Not
The cost of keeping WHS open-$219,030.60-was calculated by the district according to state statute to be the difference between operating one combined school and operating both schools.
Linda Hall pointed out that the figure represented savings to the district not the Harpswell taxpayers, but selectperson Ellie Multer said it should be considered "money that Harpswell will not spend if the school closes."
Selectman Jim Henderson said the impact on taxes would be small, amounting to 6 cents on the mil rate, or as one handout from Friends for Harpswell Education put it, for a home with a valuation of $300,000, about the price of a pizza.
"The town has traditionally responded that we support a lot of our community institutions by cash, sometimes from the taxpayers," Henderson said. "Holbrook's Wharf in Cundy's Harbor is one example, our two libraries in Cundy's Harbor and Orr's Island, our three fire and rescue companies, the Giant Stairs restoration in Bailey Island, Library Hall on Bailey Island, the Old Town House and Harpswell Historical Society. We've worked hard to keep our community institutions because of the geography and history of the town."
Former selectman Gordon Weil felt that the comparison between the cost of keeping the school open and the cost of a pizza trivialized the expense.
"Harpswell has hundreds of year-round residents who have a hard time making ends meet. Any increase in taxes, even a small one, ought to be seriously considered," Weil said.
Yet another former selectman, David I. Chipman noted that if the school closed, Harpswell Neck could have difficulty attracting young people to that area, which would make it hard to recruit volunteers for the fire and rescue service.
"If you think $219,000 is a lot of money," Chipman said, "the town did a study that said if we had to hire a professional full-time fire and rescue it would cost $2 million-a year."
McIntyre speculated that unforeseen costs could eliminate any potential savings at all. He asserted that making HIS ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible could costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. He also proposed that if bus rides proved too long (district guidelines state a ride is too long if it exceeds 60 minutes), an additional bus would cost $50,000 or so. According to a report by the town, maintaining the closed school would cost between $23,000 and $30,000 per year for either the town (if it accepted the building) or the district.

ADA Accessibility
Amanda Bastarache, sister to Lucien Hodell a second-grader at WHS who uses a wheelchair, delivered a statement from their mother, Lori Hodell. Hodell inquired whether the district was prepared to make changes to Harpswell Islands School so that her son could attend in a "least restrictive environment" as required by law. It was her belief that HIS did not meet the definition of least restrictive environment.
At first, Wilhelm refused to comment, saying that it wasn't appropriate to discuss a particular student in a public forum, but when the question was asked more generally, Wilhelm stated that the district was prepared to do "whatever is necessary" to make HIS ADA compliant.
"We stand by the position that when a student comes to the door of this building who needs accommodations we will make those accommodations," Wilhelm said.
Resident and physical therapist Lori Gagnon stated that she felt the entrance of HIS, which does not include a ramp, does not meet ADA requirements.
"The intention of ADA is not whether somebody can enter and leave the building, but also whether they can enter and leave the building equitably," Gagnon said. "It was mentioned there was a back entrance that would be wheelchair accessible. That's still segregating the student. It's not an equitable entrance if we're using a service entrance. I don't think that proposal is fair."

Final Words
Parent Elizabeth Davis urged voters to approve keeping WHS open.
"This is truly our last chance to have two good schools in Harpswell," Davis read from a statement. "Given the reality of budget cuts and geography, what is prudent for SAD 75 and what is good for Harpswell cannot be the same. This vote should be viewed as an opportunity to grow into the future by providing a local school for our youngest children to attend, no matter how small the classes get."
Dawn Prindall meanwhile urged her fellow Harpswell residents to remember that students do well in SAD 75 no matter which school they attend.
"I think Harpswell will do great, and we should be proud of that," said Prindall.