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SUNNY Temp: 84 °F Wind: W at 8 mph Tuesday, June 4, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 4, 2002 A struggle with school closure Ashland ad hoc committee first tries to get its mission straight and will take public comment on Wednesday By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Nobody said choosing an elementary school to close would be easy. Eleven members of a school closure committee formed to make that recommendation to the Ashland School District’s board of directors spent much of their first meeting Monday getting clear about the assignment. Some questioned whether a school should be closed. Others wondered if a fast-track process could yield a credible result. School board members voted 4-1 last Wednesday for a committee to come up with the recommendation as it tried to figure out how to cut $1.5 million from its budget for next year. The board wants the recommendation by June 24, in time for the new budget year that starts July 1. About 25 parents, students and school staff attended the session. Public comment was not allowed. "We want the committee to tell us which school to close," said board member John Maurer, an ad hoc committee member. "Whether it can be done is still up in the air. But we can’t save $300,000 if we don’t all work." "I don’t see how this committee will come up in any way with a decision the community will trust," said Polly Griest, Briscoe Elementary School representative. "I want to see that all of the stones are turned over." "The journey can’t be done in three weeks," said Lyle Halprin, Lincoln Elementary School representative Maurer said it would be irresponsible for the board not to explore closing a school. Asked what the board would do if the committee couldn’t produce a recommendation, Maurer responded, "If, after our diligence, a decision can’t be made with confidence ... I’m okay with that." A public comment session was set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tentative location is the Ashland High School English lecture hall. "There’s so much misinformation. People in this city have a right to air their opinions," Halprin. said in support of the public session. Public comment should come earlier in the process so the group doesn’t miss some good ideas, said committee member Keith Massie, Walker Elementary representative. Besides the public session, the committee will meet Thursday and June 17, 18, 20 and 24. Future sessions will include selection and weighing of criteria for making a decision, and seeing how schools rate based on the criteria. The committee will give its recommendation to the board on June 25. Ashland School District has to pare $1.5 million from next year’s budget because of the failure of Measure 13 in the May election. That measure was a one-time fix that took most of the money from the state Education Endowment Fund to help the schools in 2002-2003. The district had already cut $1.9 million before the failure. Several participants who were involved in considering closure of Evans Valley Elementary School in the Rogue River District said the time frame for Ashland seemed short, when interviewed earlier Monday. "It’s really not an adequate time to do a good job, in my opinion," said Mike Kuntz, member of a volunteer citizens group. "Three weeks seems like it would be very hurried to me," said Sandi Weber, assistant principal at Evans Creek. Nancy Perryman said three months seemed more appropriate than three weeks. Perryman, Weber and Kuntz agreed that committees that met at least weekly did the bulk of the work over a three-month period. Consideration of closing the school spanned a nine-month period in 2001 before it was decided to keep it open. The process differed from the Ashland’s approach. The volunteer council did its own research and presented findings. In addition, the school board commissioned site councils at Evans Creek and Rogue River Elementary to collect data, review it and make a recommendation. "Four or five months is enough time to allow people to go through a thought process. Just thinking on something for a few weeks can make a real difference," said Kuntz. Other districts around the state are considering school closures for next fall, said Ron Dixon of the Oregon School Boards Association. His organization has not kept track of how many are looking at the option. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] 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 web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S