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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 17, 2004 Ron McKay, Pastor at Ruch Community Bible Church, makes his case for the future of Ruch Elementary School at a crowded school board meeting at the school Tuesday night. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Ruch School backers unite Community members tell school board their campus is special, should not be closed down despite enrollment woes By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune RUCH — Residents packed their elementary school gym Tuesday night as the Medford school board came to weigh the little school’s future. Tightening budgets and shrinking enrollment at Ruch Elementary have prompted the district to consider closing the school to save money. Ruch’s fall enrollment has dropped roughly 44 percent since 1998, compared with about 3.6 percent districtwide. "There are some economic indicators that it could be necessary," board chairman Mike Moran said. "We have no predetermined outcome in mind. We understand you have concerns, hopes and fears, and we want you to be part of any decision." The community is ready to be involved. In the last month, roughly 100 people have attended three community meetings to gather concerns and ideas, said Becky Maddox, a Ruch parent who heads the parent-teacher organization and oversees the school’s SMART reading volunteer program. Several hundred came to Tuesday’s meeting and 39 people signed up to address the board. Advertisement Maddox told the board she attended Ruch as a girl and now her daughters have some of the same teachers she had. "School closure would take away my dream of raising my kids in a country school," she said. As state funding for schools dwindles and Ruch’s enrollment declines, however, the district must weigh the costs of educating kids at rural Ruch Elementary. Officials calculate that educating a student at Ruch costs about $6,500 this year. The district gets $4,986 per student from the state. It spends about $4,170 per student at Griffin Creek and $4,110 at Jefferson, two schools picked for comparison, said district accounting department manager Bonnie Malepsy. District officials estimate that they could have saved about $404,000 if the school wasn’t open this year. Savings could be slightly more next year. The bulk of the savings would come from eliminating positions, such as a media assistant in the library, teachers’ aides and office workers, as well as the jobs of some teachers who wouldn’t transfer to other schools. Utility and maintenance costs also would shrink if the school closed. State funding, which provides the bulk of school districts’ budgets, is expected to remain about the same or slightly less than it was this year, district Finance Director Galen Anderson said. Costs will continue to rise, though. Some estimates have placed the looming gap at up to $6.5 million next year, so the board must seek savings, he explained. In response to audience questions, Anderson said he had one conversation with someone who expressed interest in buying the school if it closed, but he hadn’t passed those details to the board. Moran and board member Tricia Prendergast both stressed that the board wasn’t entertaining offers and a potential sale wouldn’t drive a decision on the school’s future. Peter Salant, whose daughter Carly is in the sixth grade at Ruch, believes the district has overestimated the potential savings in closing the school. The actual savings could be as little as $47,000, if the closure spurs some parents to abandon public school in favor of private school or home school, he said. Students who chose other alternatives would further diminish the district’s share of state funding that is allocated based on enrollment. If Ruch closed, students would be bused to other Medford schools and the idea of a long ride has parents and kids worried. "We already have to wake up early," second-grader Madeleine Murphy said. "I don’t want to have to wake up earlier. We take a long bus ride already and it would be 15 minutes more to go to Jacksonville. We would be tired and not ready to learn." Applegate resident Matt Epstein asked the board to consider creating a home- school resource center or a charter school and look at grant and foundation funding. He proposed a task force of district officials and Ruch residents to study the alternatives. "The resources in Ruch are strong and deep and committed to the school," he said. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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