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Repair money's in hand, but school may close Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Evans Valley Elementary School has served the residents of Wimer for 77 years. But the Rogue River School District is considering closing the school as a cost-cutting measure. Wimer residents unhappy about the possibility so soon after bond election By DAMIAN MANN ROGUE RIVER - After backing a bond measure last year to upgrade Evans Valley Elementary School, some residents have cried foul that the school board is now considering closing the Wimer campus. School board members temporarily tabled $750,000 worth of remodeling, pending a study to determine whether money could be saved by permanently shutting down the 77-year-old facility. About 200 students would have to be bused an extra seven miles to Rogue River Elementary if Evans Valley closed. "If this had come out the day before the election, the bond would not have passed," said Nancy Perryman, a Wimer resident and substitute teacher. "We passed a bond issue, and one of the sticking points was the repair of Evans Valley Elementary." Perryman said residents are angered that repairs on the school, which also serves as a community center of sorts, have been stalled while the board debates closure. Voters approved a $5.3 million property tax bond last November with the understanding the money would be spent to upgrade all four schools in the 1,200-student district. But by January, the school system, faced with budget problems and staff reductions, began looking at the possibility of closing Evans Valley as a cost-cutting measure. Enrollment at the rural school has hovered around 200 students - a relatively small population that has triggered the closure of similar-sized schools in Oregon. But, if the two schools were combined, Rogue River's student population would swell to 500 - a relatively large elementary school. "It is a real can of worms when you talk about closing a school. It causes real community problems," said school board Chairman Dick Handbury. But he cautioned that it is not a foregone conclusion that the school will be shut down. "We don't have any firm plans in place," said Handbury. "When you decide you're going to close a school in order to preserve revenue, you've got to be sure you're going to have savings." The earliest closure date would be at the end of the coming school year, after the district analyzes enrollment figures, he said. Board members are wrestling with specifying how much the district must save to justify shutting down the school. Johney Myers, board member and chairman of the budget committee, estimates it could cost about $500,000 to merge the two schools, but most of this money could be recouped from the sale of the 20-acre school site on East Evans Creek Road. About $700,000 would be needed to erect modular classrooms at Rogue River Elementary to house the new students. This money could come from the bond funds now earmarked for Evans Valley, he said. These one-time expenses would be justified, said Myers, if the district expected to realize long-term savings from the closure. The school board already reduced staff at the school earlier this year in order to bring the average cost per student to the same levels as Rogue River Elementary. The community has sharply rebuffed any notion of closing the school. "It is difficult to talk to them about it - especially when they scream at us," said Myers. Niki Coulter, who has twins at Evans Valley, said, "My children are going to suffer academically if they go to a school that has 500 kids." She describes backers of the closure of the school as "nothing but number crunchers." Coulter vowed to fight any effort to close the school, no matter what the cost savings. "There is talk of some kind of class action suit against the board if they spend it on anything other than what they talked about," she said. The bus ride, which could last about an hour for some students, would also pose a hardship on children. "There is a difference between the bladder control of a small child and teenager. And there is a difference with attention span," she said. Mike Kuntz, chairman of the Committee for Educational Choices, which opposes closure of the school, said, "From what I've heard, the board has the legal authority to take the bond money. But many of us believe they don't have the moral authority." He finds it suspicious that two months after the bond was approved, the board began discussing the closure of Evans Valley. "It stretches credibility, or questions veracity," he said. Acknowledging the board has tough financial decisions to make, Kuntz nevertheless thinks it would be shortsighted to create a 500-student school on a small campus. "We don't think the way to save the school district is to create an urban elementary school in a rural town." Kuntz believes the district would eventually be forced to float another bond to replace Evans Valley once Rogue River Elementary becomes overcrowded. As to the $750,000, Kuntz said the board should let voters decide whether it would approve spending the money on other facilities. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.