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10/17/2017 12:00 AMAfter a contentious referendum and a flurry of conversation about Island Avenue Elementary School on social media, the vote to close passed with little excitement. At the regular Board of Education (BOE) meeting on Oct. 17, the board unanimously voted to close Island Avenue.
Close to 90 people packed into Town Campus to hear the vote, but few gave public comment. Only six people spoke either in opposition to the closure or in favor of delaying the vote. Island Avenue School parent Chip Walz, who founded the registered political action committee Focus on Education & Maintain Madison’s Schools said the recent referendum failure sent a strong message and more time should be allotted for a new plan to be shared with the public.
“As you consider voting to close Island Avenue School tonight, I ask that you delay the vote until a renovation and maintenance plan is fully devised, been communicated, and fully funded by the town,” he said. “…It seems to me getting a renovation plan correct is far more important than closing Island or not. While a renovation and maintenance plan decided on by the BOE may ultimately decide to close Island, I ask the rhetorical question, ‘Wouldn’t it be advisable to keep as many options on the table while preparing that plan as opposed to removing potential options in the development of that renovation and maintenance plan?’”
Resident Barbara Davis said she, too, believed the vote should be postponed because of a perceived lack of plan and the upcoming election, the state budget, and the possible implications of federal tax reform.
“After the election this November, which is just a few weeks away, there will be some new members on the BOE,” she said. “It will be up to them to develop, implement, and present a new plan. The new board should not be limited by last minute actions of the current board.”
Resident Alise Ferency thanked the BOE, but said there has been a lot of emotion around the referendum and the possible closure of Island and asked that the vote be delayed.
“There is also a bigger audience listening now and there are a lot of conversations around town—some true, some false, some people blaming others,” she said. “Irrespective of whatever anyone has said about plans and anything else, it would be really nice to have a little bit of time pass to heal our town and get us all back together.”
Some members of the BOE expressed their thoughts on the closure of Island during board member’s comments. All the members who spoke addressed how difficult the decision was to close the school, but said based on the age of the building, the years of studies, the era of declining enrollment, and numerous other factors, closure is the best way forward. Board member Katie Stein said she objects to the implication that this has been a hasty decision on the part of the board, citing lengthy studies and discussions.
“This vote for me, and I believe for all nine of us, doesn’t come quickly or lightly,” she said. “I make this decision and I realize at the same time there are jobs that will be lost or reassigned, grades will be shuffled, and there will be disruption and hurt feelings. However emotional I may be feeling, the best decisions must be made on facts…Once this decision is made, our job is not done. We will not be sitting back and crossing our arms; there is still more work to be done. The BOE in this district will continue to work, plan, and prepare for the road ahead.”
While most board members did not reference the recent failed referendum, board member Seth Klaskin did not hold back.
“In light of the atrocious misinformation campaign that surround the recent failed referendum and which has tainted this important town planning decision, I feel the need to articulate the reasoning behind my vote,” he said. “…Although the closure of Island Avenue was part of the plan that recently failed at referendum, that plan was one of many that all included and assumed the closure of our oldest elementary school…While a handful of folks made some fairly preposterous claims about how a new school would jack up property taxes, one fact was lost in the wash: Closing an elementary school would shift $1 million per year to our core education spending, the spending that does make a difference, no matter where the program is delivered.”
Klaskin went on to explain that Island is the best choice for closure due to the age of the building, the potential cost of upgrading such a dated building, the limited building footprint, safety concerns, and the geographic location of the building that could result in revenue for the town if sold.
“It is ironic to me that the people fighting the closure of Island Avenue School the hardest, who raise in many cases erroneous or misleading tax consequence arguments, are taking an incredibly short-sighted view that will actually end up costing significantly more in taxes over time,” he said. “In other words, penny wise and pound foolish.”
As to the point raised about giving the town time to “heal,” Klaskin said this decision has been a long time coming and that the dragging of feet would only make things worse.
“I am confident that we will find a way forward together, as a town, with an even better plan than the one that was just voted down at referendum,” he said. “But that won’t happen until Island Avenue is closed. It can’t [happen], because emotions are running too hot with the building open. Folks are resisting the inexorable march of change because they can’t or won’t let go and allow themselves to imagine an even better future. We have within our grasp tonight the ability to bring folks together around a future vision that encompasses the entire town and not just the region south of Route 1.”
Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice is now charged with finalizing the re-configuration and re-districting plan with a target date of fall 2019. After the meeting, Scarice confirmed the target date and said once the new board is settled in, he believes the administration will have a plan to present to the board sometime in December.
“This is just a matter of the transition of six schools to five and all of the work to get to that point,” he said. “A parallel that is happening between now and the end of the year is we are working with CIP [the Capital Improvement Program Committee] and [the board’s project manager] Colliers [International]to look at the 10-plus years CIP plan and work in the projects that need to get done to the two elementary schools. That is happening concurrently.”
Scarice said the administration is in no way starting from scratch when it comes to re-districting because the board had studied movement of students during potential renovations prior to the referendum, but said a definitive answer will not happen right away.
“When it comes to where kids go, we are not able to do any time of decision making on that until we are about within a year or so before the next school year so that we know where kids live and actually consider our district boundaries,” he said.
The board voted 7-0 to close Island Avenue Elementary School. Board members John Dean and Matt Keller were not present for the vote.