CURTIS — The Tahquamenon Area Schools Board voted Monday to close the Curtis Elementary School in the face of a deepening budget crunch.
Prior to the 5-2 vote, several parents of Curtis students threatened to send their children to other school districts. There are 77 students enrolled at the school.
The board voted to close the K-4 school, located about 20 miles from Newberry, at the end of the school year. School board members Lori Miller and James Mattson cast the dissenting votes.
Acting Superintendent Alice Walker said that although the district expects to end the year with a fund balance of $239,627, accountants forecast the 2008-09 school year will see the district left with a $174,454 deficit.
That shortfall is in addition to disproportionately higher costs to run Curtis Elementary and large district graduating classes and small kindergarten classes predicted in the years to come.
Walker began addressing a packed Curtis Elementary gymnasium Monday by saying, “I’m here to talk on behalf of closing Curtis School.”
The schools district spends $1,125 more per pupil at Curtis Elementary — including instruction, support services and utility costs — than it does at Newberry Elementary, according to school accounting staff.
In addition, according to the district, there are teachers, administrators, a social worker, technologist and a nurse traveling back and forth to Curtis from Newberry.
In Newberry, these professionals are available to more than 900 K-12 students, compared to the 77 students at Curtis Elementary. Newberry Elementary School has 350 students.
Administrators said the district made numerous cuts, saving thousands of dollars, but is still facing red ink. Many people in the audience Monday, however, doubted the administrators.
Tom Clock of Germfask was among those frustrated with the district failing to allow members of the public to meet with the school finance committee. Clock and others dispute some of the projected savings figures.
“All we hear is we need to cut,” Clock said. “We never hear how many students we need to keep the school open ... We know from looking at all the bills for the last three years, there are many ways to save money within the district.”
Teacher Susan Pann said since she came to teach at Curtis she found “there is a partnership here between parents and teachers I didn’t know existed in public schools.”
“It is the heart of the community,” Pann said. “It is not just some little school that has passed its prime.”
Portage Township Trustee Pat Abram said, “I guess it’s a no-brainer to say our township government is extremely interested in keeping this school open.”
Abram said if the district installed an outdoor wood boiler to cut heating costs, he would personally provide the wood at his expense for five years to fuel it.
Another man offered his janitorial services for free, while school librarian Linda Blanchard said she would donate her services to the school if it became a charter school.
Colleen Clock of Germfask said that after the past couple of years of continually drawing services and programs away from Curtis Elementary, it’s no wonder the school is now in trouble.
She accused the board of “death by strangulation” of the school. “They have cut this school so bad that it’s bleeding,” she said.
In a poignant moment, fifth-grader Kylie Galla read a statement to the board and crowd. Her mom Michelle sent both Kylie and her younger brother Kody to Curtis Elementary in a school of choice transfer from the Engadine School District.
Kylie was moved to Newberry this year when the fifth grade was eliminated at Curtis Elementary to save about $55,000.
In the quiet gymnasium, Kylie held a microphone in one hand and a handwritten note in the other. She told the audience how nice the teachers were at Curtis Elementary.
“I don’t think it’s fair to shut down the school and not ask the students how they feel,” she said.
