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Pierson Closure Recommendation Goes to Public Presentation

With dropping enrollment and rising costs, is it time to retire Pierson? On Tuesday, Oct. 23, the Board of Education (BOE) will hold a special meeting in The Morgan School cafeteria to present to the public the findings of a study that recommends the potential closing of the Abraham Pierson School.

In May, the BOE formed a subcommittee to conduct a six-month study of the district’s facility needs. At an Oct. 1 meeting, the subcommittee voted to recommend closing Pierson. The Pierson School, which houses grades 4 and 5, is the oldest school in the system and the least occupied. The building is more than 80 years old and serves just 251 students this year. Under the subcommittee’s proposal, grade 4 would go to the Lewin Joel School and grade 5 would go to the Jared Elliot School.

Superintendent of Schools Maryann O’Donnell said that no official decision regarding the potential closing of the school has been made. The special meeting will not be a public hearing, but public feedback will be sought after the presentation.

O’Donnell said that the meeting will cover the journey the subcommittee took to reach the decision, the options it considered, and its final recommendation. The BOE will hold a meeting in early November at which the board will make a final decision on any closure and the resulting grade level reconfiguration, as well as when any changes could take effect.

O’Donnell said that should the proposal be adopted, the subcommittee looked at implementing the changes in either the 2019-’20 or the 2020-’21 school year.

“If it can be done properly, we’ll do it in 2019 to 2020. You don’t want to rush a change like that,” O’Donnell said.

If the Pierson School is closed, control of the building would be turned over to the town once the building is no longer needed for educational purposes.

Both O’Donnell and BOE Chair Erica Gelven said the potential closing of the school was not an easy decision for the subcommittee.

“I’m appreciative of the seismic shift of these kinds of decisions,” Gelven said.

O’Donnell said that the subcommittee considered the declining enrollment, the space in the schools, the programming, and potential cost saving opportunities as factors when making its decision.

“The learning environment, culture, the quality of the staff and programming make Clinton what it is,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell and Gelven both said they hoped the Oct. 23 meeting will be well attended—and that attendees will keep an open mind. Gelven said she understands that people will have a reaction to the information presented, but hopes the community can come together behind whatever decision the BOE ultimately makes.

“I do ask that they hear us out,” she said.