The following text is from a letter sent from Joanne Nesti, Chairman of the Regional School District #17 Board of Education to the Board of Selectmen, Town of Haddam (Lizz Milardo, Larry Maggi, and Melissa Schlag) on Jan. 25, 2019 in response to the January 16, 2019 letter that the Haddam Board of Selectmen sent to the Board of Education. We are also attempting to obtaining copies of the attachments:
Thank you for your letter dated January 16, 2019 regarding the RSD 17 restructuring. The purpose of this letter is to respond to your letter and request for information.
As a result of the concerns expressed by the “Friends of HES” regarding the closure of Haddam Elementary School, the Board of Education (BOE) has engaged in several formal and informal discussions to hear them fully. Recently, the group presented to the Strategic Capital Planning Committee (SCPC) and the Committee recommended they present to and work with Haddam’s town leadership. There was no mention of a BOE “re-vote” regarding restructuring.
Leaders of both Haddam and Killingworth have supported the critical values necessary for educational improvement and the development of children in both communities. We are grateful for that support. The towns have also expected RSD 17 to maintain quality while reducing costs, in order to offset escalating expenses, lost revenue and declining enrollment. As recently as the December 2018 Joint Meeting of the BOE and the Boards of Selectmen and Finance from our two communities, there was meaningful discourse about restructuring, but the budget message from both towns remained the same…keep it flat. The BOE agrees that financial restraint is prudent and necessary to sustain the school system going forward.
The BOE has worked tirelessly to protect educational excellence while cutting costs and restricting improvements/investments. The educational results achieved with small budget increases (less than 1%) mask the real and escalating costs associated with employee salaries and benefits, special education and capital improvements, which annually increase by 2.5% to 5% and make up approximately 85% of the budget. There are limits to this activity before it impacts the students we serve.
After 18 months of examination, the Board of Education made the decision in March 2018 to restructure, which includes the introduction of an Intermediate School and consolidation of our elementary programs to improve the academic experience of and to maximize resources for these important cohorts (K-5), as well as other benefits. The restructuring includes closing HES at the end of the current academic year, which will eliminate only a portion of the District’s underutilized classroom space. It will also potentially reduce annual expenditures by approximately $1,000,000, which can be used to offset the costs mentioned above. It brings us no pleasure to close this school, lay off staff and impact the community.
However difficult, the BOE made this decision in order to ensure that it will have the resources needed to continue the legacy of excellence in the face of financial constraints at both the state level and in Haddam and Killingworth; that is, the resources to maintain class sizes, transportation and school safety, investments in technology, teacher excellence, and programming.
Please refer to the enclosed report and appendices that were produced by the Board of Education in 2017/2018. While you have expressed an interest in enrollment and cost savings, please note building capacity, which becomes more underutilized if the status quo is maintained. In addition, the Board of Education’s deliberations and public information meetings are posted on the District’s website for your review. Please refer to the public record of the BOE’s vote on the matter on March 6, 2018.
With all due respect, your request to “…pause the process until this information can be verified…” when the information has been available for almost a year, is not adequate reason to delay the implementation that is well underway and impacting many constituencies. Having said that, please contact me if you have new, vital information that would impact the restructuring.
It is the Board’s sincere desire that both towns respect and support the restructuring decision and its implementation timeline, born in no small measure of the towns’ requests to accomplish the District’s goals more efficiently. We hope you will work with us to meet the needs of the community’s children and the future potential of HES.
Sincerely,
Joanne Nesti
Chair, RSD 17 Board of Education
Enclosures (link to PDF of enclosures HERE: Appendices):
RSD 17 Restructuring Report and Appendices
Updated Capacity Report, BES and KES
Wesleyan Analysis
HES Closure Financial Projections
Enrollment Projection/Class Sizes 2019-2020
Haddam Selectmen Letter, Dated January 16, 2019
CC:
Howard Thiery, Superintendent, RSD 17
RSD 17 Board of Education
Cathy Iino, First Selectman, Killingworth
Appendices PDF added 2/1/19.
