NORTHFIELD — Closing Leyden’s Pearl Rhodes Elementary School will buy a little more time for the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, but it will not ultimately solve the problem of its financial unsustainability.
School Committee members knew this on Thursday night when they voted to close Pearl Rhodes. If the district hadn’t closed Leyden’s school, it would have a financial deficit by the 2019-2020 school year, according to projections from Pioneer Finance Director Tanya Gaylord. The Pearl Rhodes closure only guarantees the district one more year above water. If the committee had also closed Warwick Community School — which was on the chopping block too — it would have bought another year on top of that.
Now, with Pearl Rhodes closed, the next financial deficit is expected in the 2020-2021 year, if nothing else changes. That deficit will continue to grow. And then more major cuts will have to be made.
The way to avoid it would be to find new sources of revenue in the coming year, Superintendent Jon Scagel said.
Scagel was optimistic that with new programs being implemented next year, combined with whatever grants and new state aid funding the district pulls together, the district will not be in this position at this time next year. Specifically he mentioned attracting tuition-paying students through a special education program and new academic programs that will be started next year.
“I’m trying to generate enough revenue to be sustainable,” Scagel said. “We’ve got something in the works that will hopefully generate enough revenue that we can keep Warwick open and not look at closing it. That’s the idea.”
For the most part, committee members agreed Thursday that closing both schools would be the best financial strategy. In the interest of the whole district, the Leyden School Council and the Bernardston School Council agreed to support both proposed closures, Leyden resident Robin Neipp told the committee at the meeting.
But for some committee members, Warwick Community School, a relatively new building with a reputation for attracting out-of-town students, was seen to be in a different situation than Pearl Rhodes, which is older and draws fewer students.
“There are big differences between Leyden and Warwick,” said Sue O’Reilly-McRae, who chaired the School Committee at the time. She resigned from the chair position at the end of the meeting, but remains on the committee.
Some committee members supported closing both schools, citing the numbers. Others supported being more cautious with Warwick, since there is not yet a point of reference for how a school closure might play out. After closing Pearl Rhodes, the committee may be in a better position to re-evaluate Warwick next year, committee member Karen O’Neil said.
Contact Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ex 261.