Aroostook Elementary's future in minister's hands
District officials want school to become parenting centre
The 31 students who now study at Aroostook Elementary School will be transferred to Andover Elementary in the fall of 2008, so the small school can be closed.
That's the recommendation District 14 Education Council will make to Education Minister Kelly Lamrock. The District Education Council (DEC) voted, for the second consecutive year, to close the small elementary school and transfer the students to the larger elementary facility in Perth-Andover. But district officials held out hope that the small school might have a new life as an early-childhood education and parenting centre for Perth-Andover and Aroostook.
The small elementary school has faced an uncertain future for years. The latest vote was the third time in five years a District Education Council has considered closing the elementary school.
In 2004, the DEC rejected a staff recommendation to close Aroostook Elementary, but a similar recommendation in the spring of 2007 was approved by DEC members. However, the education minister rejected the suggestion in June 2007, stating he wanted to see more improvements made to Andover Elementary before closing the smaller school.
In her report recommending Aroostook Elementary's closure, superintendent Lisa Gallagher said the staff at Aroostook Elementary have served students well, but the bigger school at Perth-Andover can offer more.
"While it has been ascertained that the instructional staff at the school have served the children well, it is recognized that the additional services of the specialized positions available in a neighbouring school, seven minutes away by bus, will provide students with a wider range of educational support and experiences. The projected cost savings relative to salaries would be $135,022.98," the superintendent's report stated.
Aroostook Elementary would also require up to $412,719 in electrical and mechanical renovations if the facility was operated over time. The small enrollment, 31 students in a school designed for 120 pupils, translates into high-operating costs based on a per-student ratio.
"Staff have conducted a cost analysis that includes phone costs, electricity, garbage removal, minor repairs, water/sewage, snow plowing, heating fuel and cleaning supplies. The total operating cost per student is $947.47. With 40 students attending the school in 2004-2005, this translates into a total cost of $37,898.67, which would be recouped in one fiscal year," the report stated. "The current school enrolment for 2007-2008 is 31, as indicated in the educational review. Therefore, the continued projected decline in enrolment will exacerbate this situation."
Gallagher acknowledged Aroostook area residents want to see the school remain open for a variety of reasons.
"Primarily, it is felt that students receive an excellent education due to the very small student/teacher ratio. While this is true, it is also evident that all 31 students would be welcomed to Andover Elementary and that the quality of education they would receive there would also be of high calibre.
"The greater community also wishes to see the school remain open in the hopes that families will return to the town of Aroostook.
"While this would be an exciting turn of events, projections provided to us from Statistics Canada indicate a continued decline in enrolment that will see the school at 17-per-cent capacity by the year 2010."
The district superintendent quoted Minister Lamrock in her response to "non-educational reasons" why Aroostook Elementary should remain open.
"Schools do not exist so that an adult can walk to a child's school; a parent can work close to a child's school; to raise a neighbourhood's self-esteem or property values; or to satisfy adults' desire for continuity or tradition.
"But the role of a school is not to facilitate these things or consider them alongside the interests of the child. Parents like us simply adapt our lives around the ones our children lead, and we find a way to do it wherever a school may be ... If buildings made the school, and emotion and tradition decided the issue, I would never replace the building where I attended school. But the building is important because of what happened there.
And now, the building is clearly outdated and ready to become history," Lamrock stated in a 2006 press release about a Fredericton-area school.
Gallagher said the education minister's request after the April 2007 closure recommendation was rejected for School District 14 to "explore further ways to work with the Aroostook community," the district has added resources to Andover Elementary.
"As a community school, it is benefiting from the assistance of many adult volunteers … Further, the School District recognizes the need for an improved gymnasium at Andover Elementary School and has prioritized it on the capital projects list submitted to the Department of Education."
Gallagher said the district was working with the community to access federal funding to make Aroostook Elementary into a parenting centre.
"Efforts continue with the initiative. Clearly, the benefits to all children in the Greater Perth-Andover/Aroostook area will be vital to continue and sustain an academic press in the region."
The superintendent also recommended the district ensure a positive transition to Andover Elementary School for the 31 Aroostook students and their families.
"A recommended timeline would see a "Thank You Aroostook" celebration take place in May, with activities organized for Aroostook children at Andover School once a week. District bussing and support for these transition activities would become an important priority," the report concluded.
The final decision on Aroostook Elementary's future remains with the education minister.
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