Restructuring plan on USD 234 agenda

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The USD 234 Board of Education plans to address the attendance center issue at least one more time in a public forum before voting on the matter next month.

During their regular meeting at 5:30 p.m., Monday, at the USD 234 Board of Education office, 424 S. Main St., board members are expected to hear a progress report from an advisory review committee that is researching the facts about a proposal to reconfigure Winfield Scott and Eugene Ware elementary schools into attendance centers.

At that meeting, the board is also expected to set the time, date and location for a public forum that will take place before the board is scheduled to vote on the issue at their May 3 meeting. The forum will allow any concerned community members to address the board or provide input on the proposal to the board. Committee members will also be available for discussion on their findings, USD 234 Superintendent Rick Werling said.

The proposal would involve changing one school into a kindergarten through second grade school and the other into a third through fifth grade school.

The review committee has been researching the pros and cons of the proposal since early March but is not meant to vote on the proposal or influence the board. The decision on whether or not to implement the proposal is ultimately up to the board, officials said.

The idea for the proposal arose again earlier this year when the principals at both schools began discussing ways to save the district money following drastic budget cuts within the last year and to avoid larger class sizes if both schools have to cut some teaching positions next year.

"The two principals discussed it with the board," USD 234 Superintendent Rick Werling said. "We thought with the financial situation in our state and at our schools, it was time to study it again."

One of the review committee's tasks is to determine costs associated with the proposal and whether or not it would, in fact, save money for the district. District officials have said they won't know details on the financial impact of the proposal until they have collected all of the necessary information and reviewed the facts of the proposal thoroughly.

Information on all topics that the committee has been discussing will be included in a full report containing the committee's findings and recommendations that will be presented to the board at their May meeting.

School officials have said the new configuration would result in improved academics, equalized class sizes and more frequent teacher collaboration. Some teachers and parents have said the proposal could present problems with consistency in daily school routines and have adverse effects on students. The board considered a similar proposal in 1987 but the issue was tabled.