Superintendent Fears State Takeover If School Consolidation Does Not Occur

The "reorganization plan" presented at the Board of Education meeting on October 23 is justified by Webster County Schools' Superintendent Martha Dean because of the continuing county-wide decline in student enrollment and the related lack of state-matched revenue due to such decline.

Superintendent
 Martha Dean

In her report released to the Board, Dean stated that "we run the risk of state takeover because our financial resources will not support our current system."

According to statistics Dean presented at the meeting, overall student enrollment in the county has decreased from 2,416 students in 1988 to 1,499 students in 2012.  On a percentage basis, the Diana Elementary School has experienced the largest decline, at 62% from 1988 to 2012, or a drop in student enrollment from 204 in 1988 to its current 77 in 2012.

In support of closing the Diana school and sending all of its Pre-K to sixth grade students to the Webster Springs Elementary School, Dean points out in her report to the Board that "there is no grade level at Diana School with a sufficient number of students to require a full-time teacher for that grade level."  No grade at Diana has more than 10 students.  In comparison, the lowest number of students in any grade at Glade Elementary is 18 students, and the lowest at Glade Middle is 19 for any one grade.  At Webster Springs, the lowest number of students in any grade is 17.  At Hacker Valley, grade sizes range from 11 to 18.

Dean's plan does not affect the Hacker Valley school.  From 1988 to 2012, Hacker Valley's enrollment has decreased from 101 to 72, but actually increased from 2008 (when it had only 54 students).  Dean's plan does suggest that "the Board may want to consider giving students from Diana the option of attending Hacker Valley.  The number of students at Hacker Valley is 72 this year and they could accommodate part of the students from Diana with no increase in staff."  Dean suggests that Diana students from Jumbo and Sugar Creek "would be at least as close to Hacker Valley as they are to Webster Springs."

In proposing that Diana be closed, Dean cites in her report the inequity in having staff paid the same as at other schools but having considerably less students to manage.  Dean anticipates the closing of the Diana school will eliminate four service positions for a savings of about $100,000.00 and potentially the elimination of up to 10 teaching positions amounting to an additional savings of $500,000.00.  Dean argues that "if Webster County keeps the same schools and the same grade configuration currently in place, we will have to pay for as many as ten teachers beyond what the school aid formula will pay."  Other savings come from eliminating utility bills and other maintenance costs associated with the Diana school.

Dean presented a copy of a slide show to Board members which began with this caption:  "Drastic Action Is Needed!"

Her proposal requires public input and a vote by the Board by December 31, 2012.

In addition to the closing of the Diana school, the plan would change the high school from grades 9 to 12 to grades 7 to 12, moving all students in grades 7 and 8 from Diana, Webster Springs, and Glade Middle to the high school.  Glade Middle would be eliminated and Glade Elementary would have Pre-K through grade 6.  Again, no grades at Hacker Valley are affected by the plan.

Dean suggests that moving grades 7 and 8 to the high school is justified because "we have not been providing the curriculum these students should have" and "putting them in one school will increase our flexibility to provide more appropriate courses for their age level."   She added that "they could have richer art, music, foreign language, physical education, health, and technology offerings."

Dean's report also addresses whether the high school has enough room for the seventh and eighth graders.  She believes that with some remodeling, this can be accomplished, and in an area that could be somewhat isolated from the older students.  

"I know this is a big step and will probably be controversial on all fronts.  However, in my judgment, it is time to take bold steps to insure that this county can remain solvent over the next several years.  If we continue to try to maintain an organizational plan that has too many schools and is lacking in a robust curriculum for one age group of our students, we run the risk of state takeover because our financial resources will not support our current system," Dean said in the report.