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CLOUDY Temp: 43 °F Wind: SSW at 4 mph Saturday, December 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend December 10, 2002 Briscoe to be closed first Ashland board decides to shut it next year, with Lincoln hinging on enrollment under 1,050 By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Briscoe Elementary School will close next year and Lincoln will close when district elementary numbers drop below 1,050 students or financial conditions warrant, the Ashland School Board decided Tuesday. School board members unanimously passed the motion at 10:40 p.m. after more than two and a half hours of public testimony and deliberation. More than 80 community members attended the session and 18 spoke. Board members rejected 3-2 the preferred alternative of Superintendent Juli Di Chiro that both schools close next year. John Maurer and Chuck Keil voted for the motion, while Amy Amrhein, Terry Littleton and Curt Bacon cast dissenting votes. Di Chiro also presented alternatives that called for closing just one school and the one the board adopted. "It’s a financial reality of what we find the district in," said Di Chiro, explaining her proposal to close two schools. "I don’t feel I can bring any other recommendation to you." Maurer noted that, without a school closure, class sizes in the district would increase next year. Walker, Bellview and Helman schools will remain open. Four speakers clearly supported closing of one school, while three supported closing two schools. "We will support the necessity of one school closure," said Walker Elementary parent Laurie Hayden, who represented 41 people that met before the session. "But we don’t support a second (closure)." Several favored no closure and expressed fears of overcrowding. "I want all of our kids to start with a strong foundation," said Martha Cotton. "That’s isn’t going to happen with overcrowding." Briscoe has the capacity for 300 students, but currently serves 217. Lincoln has capacity for 400 students, but has 258 students. Total elementary capacity in the district is 1,800 students. There were 1,187 in November. A saving of $354,463 was projected from closing Briscoe. Lincoln savings are projected at $313,727. Other savings per school ranged from $267,000 to $373,000. The district’s total budget is $19.5 million. When a statewide funding measure failed in May the districts shortfall for the current year increased to $3.1 million. Failure of a Jan. 28 measure could lead to an additional loss of $540,000. A citizen’s closure committee ranked Briscoe as the top priority for closure and that Lincoln be closed second. The committee based its recommendations on criteria that included classroom size, attendance, safety, parking and maintenance. Briscoe and Lincoln consistently scored lowest on the scales. The committee was originally charged with recommending one school for closure. That was increased to two when a demographer projected that the Ashland district would see a 15 percent decline in elementary enrollment during the next five years. Originally the committee was to make a recommendation by the end of last June. That deadline was abandoned when the committee said there were too many factors to consider in a limited time frame. More than 200 people attended a Dec. 2 board work session where the committee’s work was presented. A majority of the 20 speakers pleaded that the two schools should remain open. Committee member Polly Geist, who represented Briscoe on the committee, criticized the report. She said the findings were sloppy, inaccurate and rushed. Seismic repair for Briscoe School was estimated at $1.93 million, more than twice as much as the other four schools combined. Briscoe came out with the lowest possible score in five of nine graded categories De Chiro earlier said the district would probably retain the schools for a few years to see if demographics follow predictions. The buildings might be leased. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S