Letters: Restructuring Fruitport elementary schools is best for whom?

The Muskegon Chronicle By The Muskegon Chronicle The Muskegon Chronicle
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on March 15, 2012 at 8:11 AM
2005_06_0233.JPGClosing the swimming pool is one suggestion for saving money at Fruitport schools made by our letter writer.
Fruitport Community Schools’ Superintendent Robert Szymoniak announced a plan on March 2 to staff and on March 5 to a select group of parents that will drastically change the three elementary schools next school year. The plan calls for a K-1 building to be located in the current Beach Elementary. A second- and third-grade building would be located in the current Shettler Elementary. The fourth and fifth grades would be in the current Edgewood Elementary.

The superintendent announced that this was the only/best plan for cost cutting for the upcoming school year. It was stated that to keep from exhausting our current fund balance this was the last option. There was no research-based evidence presented to support this change. There was no clear dollar amount of savings given for this change. It was shared that this would increase the cost of busing by around $60,000 per year. There would also be cost involved in moving the classrooms of so many teachers, and for the loss of student revenue for those that decide to go to a district that cares about the children.

There are many options that the school board and superintendent seem to have missed. I have compiled a short list of ideas. I am sure there are many other ideas out there, if only we had been asked.

• Sharing of administrative positions with another local school district including transportation director, maintenance director and financial director. Sharing the cost of these positions would save both districts a substantial amount of money.

• Discontinue the use of the swimming pool. It costs $75,000 per year to operate. The pool has not been used for a swim team since 1969 when it was originally built.

• Regulation of energy use. Programmable thermostats in classrooms that turn the heat on and off at set times would save money. Many classrooms are so hot year 'round that they are opening their windows to let the heat out. We have all learned not to pay to heat the outdoors. It takes more than changing some light bulbs to reduce energy costs. Turn lights off after hours, close blinds, turn off monitors at night, etc.

• Selling the iPads that were just purchased for the school board.

• Lead by example: take cuts at the administrative level. The 2011-12 salary for administrators, according to the current contract, shows that they each received a raise of $500 from last year’s base pay. The rest of the staff took a pay freeze. There are five building principals, three assistant principals, Impact Leaders, deans of students, and seven counselors. Are they all necessary? Can any of the positions be shared between buildings so that they number of administrators can be reduced?

The budgetary problems are coming from the state level. They affect all schools in Michigan. We, as the adults, need to make decisions that have the least impact on student learning. All of the above mentioned ideas would have little to no impact on classroom learning, while at the same time would save money for our district. It seems like Fruitport schools has made a decision that most directly affects our youngest students while having the least impact on our highest paid administrative staff.

Our children deserve the best education possible. Having “neighborhood” schools helps because of the relationships built between staff and students as well as between staff and families. There is no doubt that these kinds of relationships positively affect learning. The relationships also affect how we feel about our district. How does Szymoniak expect any future bond or millage elections to pass once we know that our children’s best interests are not considered a priority? The children are able to develop friendships with the small number of students in their grade. How would this be possible when they are put into a mix of hundreds of students that are remixed every year? By having our children move from building to building every two years, it will also affect the amount of parent involvement.

Busing elementary students with middle school and high school students on the same buses opens up another set of issues. I imagine the youngest students will learn many new words and ideas from the high school and middle school students. Many children in the teenage group are not known for their good filters. For some children, the only stability they get in their lives comes from time spent at school. By forcing our youngest students to shuffle around every two years, that will be lost. You will create a transient student body that will have to start over again and again.

As parents and community members, we need to make our voices heard on this decision. Public input and support before this decision is made is so important. There needs to be transparency in the decision making process and we need to hold the superintendent and school board accountable. 

KURT HAZARD/Beach School parent and volunteer