At a meeting on Feb. 6 at the Somerville School, RSU 12 Supt. Greg Potter presented a proposal to move the remaining K-5 students out of the Somerville School, and instead use the building for alternative education classes and special education administrative offices.
Administrators formed the plan in response to anticipated loss of state and federal funding in coming years.
“Every year we cut teachers,” Potter told a crowd of about 30 residents from around the district. To stem this trend, Potter said administrators hope to prepare for loss of state and federal funding by “getting creative” about the use of the district’s facilities.
The plan proposed on Feb. 6 is to move the K-5 students from the Somerville School to Windsor Elementary School.
The alternative education program, which is currently held in a house in Windsor, would then move to the Somerville School. This program includes 12, high school-aged students. The program can accommodate up to 15 students, Potter said.
“All or part” of the district’s special education administrative offices would move to the Somerville School and the superintendent’s office would move from a rental property in Chelsea to Chelsea Elementary School.
The change would reduce the need for staff and remove the two properties used for the superintendent’s office and the alternative education program from the district’s books.
Potter said he hopes that current teachers at the Somerville School will be able to remain in the district in positions vacated by retirees.
Potter said preliminary estimates indicate the changes would save the district “at least $350,000 per year.”
At the meeting, no Somerville parents expressed concerns over the proposed move. The only concerns expressed at the meeting were from Chelsea parents, who are worried about a possible security risk from housing the superintendent’s office in their elementary school.
One Somerville parent whose son attended the Somerville School and then changed to the Windsor School in sixth grade by choice said the move was positive, and Somerville parents should not be worried about their children attending school in Windsor.
Currently, 15 students are enrolled at the Somerville School, plus an additional seven students in a behavioral program at Somerville School called BACE(B).
At Somerville School as of this fall, there were one kindergartener, two first graders, no second graders, seven third graders, no fourth graders and five fifth graders.
Windsor Elementary would have no problem accommodating the additional 22 students, Potter said.
In the current year’s RSU 12 budget, Somerville’s contribution for K-12 education is $394,043. Including the K-5 students, there are 65 students from Somerville in the RSU 12 school system.
Potter presented the plan to the Somerville Board of Selectmen two weeks ago. Dave Stanley, chairman of the selectmen, said the board’s reaction was “quite positive.”
“My response to the whole thing is that I would rather see it continue to be used for some sort of educational activity than see it get shut down,” Stanley said. “That’s the spirit of the building, if not the letter.”
Residents and parents will have opportunities to ask questions and make comments at a string of future meetings, Potter said. The next meeting on this topic will be held Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at Chelsea Elementary School.
