Apr 4, 2009 7 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – Within the next few weeks the Connellsville Area School District administration and board of directors will begin looking at several options to cut the number of buildings now in use, merge students into fewer schools and realign grade levels. In early March, the board conducted a hearing for the purpose of closing schools and reconfiguring its elementary, junior high and high school programs. No official action can be taken for 90 days. According to district and state information, consideration for consolidation comes at a time when enrollment figures continue to plummet, classrooms are underutilized and expenses to maintain the buildings are on the rise.

The state Department of Education (PDE) figures show the 2007-08 elementary enrollment, including kindergarten, was 2,646 students; the junior high school, comprised of grades seven through nine, shows 1,244 attended classes while high school numbers were at 1,228.

The PDE predicts by 2016, the elementary numbers will drop to 2,284; junior high to 1,147 and senior high enrollment to 1,024 for an overall decline of 13-percent.

The district underwent a consolidation process in 1982 after seeing student enrollment drop by nearly 1,500 students from 1966 to 1981. The administration closed the South Connellsville and Dawson-Vanderbilt elementary schools.

Since 1982, the district enrollment has declined by approximately 1,970 students.

The options under consideration arose through conversations with a variety of people, including other district administrators and staff members, board members and the general public, said district Superintendent David Goodin.

“I tried to identify reoccurring themes; if (the scenario) came out several times, it became an option the board should consider,” he said.

The first option would shutter South Side Elementary School and transfer the kindergarten through grade six students to other buildings.

In a recent master facilities study, the building scored the lowest when rated on its condition, education suitability and technological readiness.

The study reported problems with electrical and plumbing services, a computer in the basement adjacent to a heating system and technology equipment in a main hallway surrounded by a shower curtain. Also listed were classrooms not meeting standard sizes, no driveways for loading and unloading of students and multiple roof leaks.

The building is targeted for closure in all options.

“I understand it is a community school; that it is comfortable for the parents and students,” said Goodin. “But it is also in great need of repair.

“The halls need widening and there needs to be a great deal of reconfiguring and if you did renovate it, you would still end up with a landlocked building with no room for expansion.”

The option would include maintaining the current grade alignments or transferring the grade nine students to the high school.

The second option would close the Connellsville Township Elementary School for educational purposes in addition to South Side Elementary School. Should students be transferred to other elementary buildings, the Connellsville Township building would be utilized by district administrators and as a record storage site.

“There are people scattered throughout the district that we would like to have in one central location,” said Goodin. “We also need to bring all of our records together.”

Currently, a portion of the building serves as administrative offices.

The option also entails the closure of South Side and realigning the elementary grade levels to include kindergarten through grade five; grade six through eight at the junior high level and grades nine through 12 at the senior high school.

The third option has several components of a plan approved last year by the board. However, a civil lawsuit filed by a group of parents and taxpayers halted its implementation.

The plan calls for the closure of South Side, Connellsville Township and Dunbar Borough elementary buildings with students relocated to Zachariah Connell, Bullskin Township or Dunbar Township elementary schools.

The proposal calls for a kindergarten through grade four elementary program; grade five through eight intermediate program with students housed in one of the two junior high schools and grades nine through 12 at the high school.

An alternative in the option, puts those in grades five and six at Junior High West and grades seven and eight at Junior High East.

The primary concern for those that filed the lawsuit was the housing of the younger students with the older students at the junior high schools.

Goodin said that the option alternative addresses those concerns.

“The community is finding the alternative attractive,” he said. “There is a majority of people that say they want the district to be fiscally responsible; they want us to manage their money and our resources efficiently.

“There are many people that tell me that schools need to be closed; they don’t like it, but understand it may happen and if it has to be done this is a good solution.”

A fourth option would also close Zachariah Connell Elementary School and relocate its students along with South Side student to Junior High West. Those in grades seven and eight would go to Junior High East and students in grade nine would move to the high school.

The fifth option would shutter South Side, Connellsville Township, Dunbar Borough and Clifford N. Pritts elementary schools.

The mountain area school students in kindergarten through grade four would move to the Springfield Township building and grades five and six students to Junior High East.

The remaining elementary buildings would house kindergarten through grade four students with remaining grades five through eight students transferred to Junior High East or Junior High West.

The high school would include students in grades nine through 12.

Should students in grades five and six be moved to a separate location, Goodin speculated that the intermediate program would better ready the students for junior high school.

“I can see some flexible scheduling and rotating to some classes for the fifth graders and sixth graders perhaps going to one teacher for science and math; another one for social studies, reading and English,” he said. “(The rotation) will get them ready for seventh grade.

“They would still have a lot of strong elementary elements, including the teacher and student contact.”

Should any new programs be offered in the grade five and six intermediate school, the mountain area schools would also have access to the courses, he added.

“It is going to be an evolving process,” said Goodin.

Because the board has yet to narrow the number of options, Goodin has not determined savings tied to the closures, staffing needs or transportation changes for proposals one, two, four and five.

Some preliminary investigation was done by the administration last year when the board moved to close the three elementary buildings as outlined in option three.

“Wisely, administrators did keep that information; (business manager) Gene Cunningham did go through and determine potential savings and (transportation director) Jim Lembo has a pretty good idea how to make this work, if directed to do so by the board.”

The option alternative would maintain all current district staff, Goodin added.

At recent meetings parents have requested the district undertake necessary renovations at the schools before relocating the students as recommended by the MGT study.

However, Goodin believes the buildings slated to stay open along with the grade realignment will enable the transfers to immediately take place, should the board move forward with a plan.

“The MGT study does not look at financial considerations,” he said. “It’s fine to say let’s renovate the high school; Zachariah Connell and Dunbar Township and then move the students.

“This district can not afford to do that; we need to free up some money in the budget to embark on these projects.”

Renovations at any school will disrupt students and cause inconvenience to those in the building, he added.

Goodin maintains that “the board is listening” to the public and over the course of the next several weeks will consider each option and determine the pros and cons of each one during informational meetings, before making a final decision.

The first public meeting in connection with the closures and realignment will likely take place in mid-April with the board reviewing a feasibility study conducted by Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates.

A current feasibility study is required by PDE when a district is considering renovations or new construction.

While Goodin believes the Master Facilities Study prepared by MGT of America would meet PDE criteria, Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates have offered to prepare the feasibility study at no cost to the district.