9/16/2004
The Livermore elementary school is set to close in summer 2005. By a 4-1 vote Monday night, the Twin Rivers Board of Education, at their regular monthly meeting, approved closing the Livermore building at the conclusion of the current school year. With the move, the district will seek acquisition of two portable classrooms to be placed on the southeast corner of the high school grounds located in Bode. The portable facility would house students in grades K-3. Students in grades 4-5 in Livermore will join students in grades 6-8, who have already been attending classes at the combined elementary/middle school in Gilmore City. Cost of the portable buildings is estimated at $100,000. The price could be less, according to Kenton, if some of the costs are covered through PPEL (Physical Plant Equipment Levy) funds. School officials estimate the district will save $246,878 by closing the Livermore building. The district would continue to maintain use of the gymnasium at the Livermore school, as well as maintain and upgrade the baseball and softball diamond sports complex at Livermore, which the district uses for high school summer sports. Board member Duane Reineke of Livermore cast the lone dissenting vote. Reineke said he didn't feel adequate plans were made for the building itself to approve the measure. The move is contingent upon the extension of TR's sharing agreement with neighboring Gilmore City-Bradgate to facilitate grades 4-5. At a public hearing held Sept. 9 at the high school gym in Bode, Superintendent Kenton and the board outlined rationale for closing the Livermore building and creating space to house students in grades K-3 on the Bode school grounds. Roughly 50-60 persons from the public were on hand to attend the hearing. Kenton began by listing the financial history of the Twin Rivers district, dating back to the 1981-82 school year. He noted the district's financial solvency ratio, which was 13.98 percent for the 2003-2004 school year and above the at-risk mark of 5.0 percent, faces a greater threat as a small, rural school district. Of the 370 school districts in the state, Twin Rivers has the 15th lowest enrollment of 201 students. Among the bottom 15 districts statewide in enrollment, Kenton said only one other district in the bottom 15 has two school buildings. The rest are maintaining just one building. Kenton said the cost of operating the Livermore elementary school in 2003-2004 was $569,028. The figure equates to a per pupil cost of $9,645. Currently, the state cost per pupil based on state aid is $4,823 per student. "Districts with a solvency ratio of five percent or less are determined to be at-risk. Decisions made prior to this school year were made that have helped improve our solvency ratio. Larger districts than ours can better handle a changing solvency ratio with higher, more stable enrollment," Kenton said. "We have lost 30 students the last two years. Multiply those 30 students by roughly $5,000 and that tells you how much enrollment hurts," Kenton said. " While the official enrollment count for 2004-2005 will not be taken until Friday, Sept. 17, Kenton said it appears the Livermore building enrollment this year is at 57 students, down from last year's figure of 59 students. The current enrollment figure at Livermore includes seven students in kindergarten, 11 in first grade, nine in second grade, four in third grade, 15 in fourth grade and 11 in fifth grade. Kenton said enrollment projections for next year indicate continued decline at all levels. "The reduced budget guarantee in state aid, the economic conditions and a lack of legislative support for schools over the last several years, especially rural schools like ours...schools are hurting," Kenton said. "We will continue to face conditions where our budget will be at-risk and it will be really expensive to run two buildings in the future," Kenton said. "We have a window of opportunity right now. I know if we delay, conditions will be worse and we can't wait any further." Kenton and board members said with the TR and Gilmore City-Bradgate three-year sharing agreement set to expire, state law requires districts to formally submit a desire to renew a sharing agreement, 90 days prior to a February 1, 2005 deadline. During the hearing, Livermore resident Marie Wilson asked the board to delay their decision to close the Livermore school. Kenton said talk of closing the building has been ongoing for the past two years. He also noted the move now would allow staff members affected by the change, to have time to seek career employment elsewhere. He also said staff members at the portable classrooms would be selected upon seniority and priority needs of the district. "In the past the Livermore community has been threatened to approve levies to keep our school. Is the Livermore community going to support the levies in place if we do this? One of the levies comes up in 2006," Wilson said. "I have no idea. That's a good question to ask," Kenton said. Board member Eric Mogler said the district couldn't afford to wait another two to three years. Board member Jennifer Rolland said it's time to "move forward for the sake of the kids and the communities." "The challenge of meeting school budget shortfalls relates to closing timelines," Kenton said. "The school district has to be proactive, knowing that our budget will be at-risk if the expenses of our current grade school operation continues." Asked by patrons on the cost of demolishing the school, Kenton said cost estimates begin at $75,000 and would probably run higher as laws require the proper removal of asbestos products which Kenton said is quite prevalent in the building. Kenton told of new added costs the district faced when a state fire marshal last year asked the district to remove the outdoor fire escape chute at the Bode school at a cost of $45,000. He said numerous doors also need to be replaced among both buildings with new, fire-proof doors at a cost of $30,000. He said the district is developing a plan to address those requirements. "State fire marshal citations have placed an additional burden on the Livermore building. Delays in some of these plans to rectify these citations have been allowed because of the proposal of possible building closing," Kenton said. Some members in the audience asked why the Bode school building couldn't house all 13 grades. Others urged the district to send all elementary-age students to Gilmore City, giving the district continued savings. Kenton said the district would see greater savings by sending all elementary-age students to Gilmore City. He also said district surveys in recent years indicate parents of younger children prefer to have their kids attend classes close by, if at all possible, compared to busing some of them 20-plus miles to Gilmore City. Rural Livermore resident Greg Lempke asked what the feedback was from families on making such moves. Lempke said if 10-15 kids open enrolled out of the district because of changes, the district savings would be reduced. "We've sent out surveys and have gotten people's opinions, so we feel providing a facility in Bode will help keep some of these students in our district," Rolland said. "If we don't make a decision to keep younger kids here, there will be families who will decide to leave or open enroll out of the district," Kenton said. "But again, that's an unknown and we can't pinpoint people's opinion." Kenton said the district has already received permission to acquire land across the street from the Bode school to place playground equipment for elementary students. Like many schools, Kenton said the school could close Third Street just south of the school during school hours to enhance student safety.
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The Humboldt
Independent • Official paper of Humboldt County
Telephone: (515)
332-2514 |
