WARWICK — Residents and town officials are continuing to fight to keep Warwick Community School open, following a 7-5 vote by the Pioneer Valley Regional School District School Committee to recommend that the state commissioner of education close the school at the end of the school year.
A meeting held Tuesday saw more than 50 residents and town officials gather at Town Hall to discuss their options for keeping elementary education in their town. The meeting included members of the Warwick Education Advisory Committee, the Finance Committee, the Selectboard, Town Coordinator David Young and School Committee representatives.
“The major point is that we want our kids educated here, in town,” said Selectboard Chair Lawrence “Doc” Pruyne.
Pruyne called for a “straw vote” during the meeting to gauge how many in attendance support town officials exploring options to keep Warwick Community School open. Nearly everyone raised their hand in favor of continued efforts, even saying they would be willing to pay higher taxes to provide financial support.
The Selectboard and Education Advisory Committee have a meeting scheduled with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley on March 9. Pruyne said they will present plans for a Horace Mann II Conversion School, among other options, to the commissioner.
A prospectus, a draft plan for operating a Horace Mann II school, was presented to the School Committee in the fall, but did not receive approval ahead of the state deadline for Horace Mann II applications.
Other options the Selectboard and Education Advisory Committee are exploring include joining Supervisory Union 28, which consists of the elementary schools in Erving, Leverett, New Salem, Wendell and Shutebury. Within Union 28, each district is autonomous and elects its own school committee, which oversees the educational program for its elementary school. Together, the Union 28 communities share the cost and oversight of the superintendent and central office.
Finance Committee member Olivier Flagollet said there is a chance the elementary school could be closed for the 2020 to 2021 year, but the town could still explore options to bring elementary education back into Warwick through means outside of the Pioneer school district for the following year. If the Warwick Community School does temporarily close, Flagollet said he is interested in creating a homeschooling network with other parents.
“As a parent, I’m not interested in staying in the district,” Flagollet said. “It’s clearly not the right avenue financially and ideologically.”
Multiple student parents who attended the meeting said they would not send their children to Northfield Elementary School if the merger happens.
Superintendent Jonathan Scagel said the recommendation to send Warwick Community School students to Northfield Elementary for the 2020 to 2021 school year was unanimously agreed upon by the administrative team consisting of himself, all four district principals, director of special education, curriculum coordinator/grants manager and the director of finance during a meeting earlier this month.
“The consolidation is necessary to maintain essential staff and programs district-wide, and to help our remaining schools be operational and sustainable,” Scagel said during the Jan. 16 School Committee meeting. “We all recognize the loss to the community of Warwick, but Warwick is an important part of our district and will continue to be after the merger.”
Parents expressed concerns with the long commute from Warwick to Northfield Elementary. According to Education Advisory Committee member Diana Noble, the two current Warwick routes are approximately 30 and 40 minutes each. Adding a 20-minute trip to Northfield Elementary would make this an hour-long ride for some of the young students, Noble said.
The state education commissioner has the authority to close, reorganize or reconfigure schools. Education Advisory Commitee Vice Chair Tom Wyatt said he “hopes the commissioner takes a broad look” and considers the options presented to him in March.
“We’re going to find a way through this,” Pruyne said.
Another meeting of Warwick residents and officials will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.