School building consolidation being considered for Webutuck's future

WEBUTUCK — News of Governor David Paterson’s proposed $800 million cut in state aid for New York schools has hit local school districts hard.

As reported last week, Pine Plains is scrambling to combat what Superintendent Linda Kaumeyer estimated would be a $1 million cut in the 2009-10 budget. And while the Pine Plains Board of Education has yet to propose suggestions to reduce costs, the Webutuck Central School District hopes moving quickly will leave the district prepared for the worst in coming months.

On Nov. 25 the Webutuck Board of Education met for a Facility Committee meeting; one of the more drastic options discussed was the idea of consolidation among the five school buildings in the Webutuck school district.

"Last night the board decided they would invite the Amenia Town Board to sit down with them to talk about the destiny of the Amenia Elementary School building," district Superintendent Richard Johns said.

Johns explained that consolidation has been on the board’s long-range facility plan for at least several years, and specifically the buildings in Amenia and Millerton had been chosen for eventual closure under the plan. Millerton resident Chip Barrett has also been a vocal supporter of consolidation at several board meetings in the past few months.

"I sent in a letter requesting that the board come up with a proposal plan of what they’re going to do as far as consolidating the three campuses into one, as well as the feasibility of merging with another district," he said.

Every five years the district is required to hire an engineering firm to complete a facilities study, Johns said. The state department then uses that study to decide whether to issue a certificate of occupancy. The last study in 2005 resulted in rating the two buildings in question as having "significant issues that were unsatisfactory," according to Johns.

"As we looked at the problems with the Amenia building, and we looked at enrollment numbers, we asked ourselves, ‘Do we really need to put the amount of money we do into that building?’" he said.

While the town of Amenia’s supervisor, Wayne Euvrard, had yet to be contacted by the district when he spoke to The Millerton News, he wasn’t surprised to hear about the proposal.

"A couple of years ago there was discussion about consolidation to a central campus," he said. "I think it makes sense. There are some people that like the small school in the hamlet, but it works against kids living in the northern part of North East that have to endure long transportation rides to get to school."

If the Amenia building were to close, the district would need to find a use for it, but Euvrard already has a few suggestions.

"We’ve always talked about forming a committee to try and find a proper Town Hall for Amenia," he said. "And I’ve always said the elementary school would be perfect. There’s proper office space, a large auditorium, the gym could be used for the Recreation Committee and there’s parking. We’re probably the only town in Dutchess County that doesn’t have their own town hall. And while it’s been a good working relationship with the fire company, it’s time for Amenia to join the rest of the world."

"There’s a similar situation in Millerton," Barrett added. "Both the village and town halls are too small to have gatherings. I know people that have showed up to meetings and weren’t able to fit in the building and ended up leaving. There’s no reason why the village and town halls couldn’t fit into the Millerton schoolhouse. It’s not right to turn people away who have something to say. I think it could be a win-win situation for the towns and the school district."

Both Johns and Board of Education President Dale Culver, however, stressed that neither building was guaranteed to be selected for consolidation, and it was clear that consolidation is not the only option left for the district. In fact, it might not even be the best option.

"The New York state economy is probably in the worst shape we’ll see in 50 years," Culver said, adding the board’s immediate plans are to "go over every dollar and see what we can do better, smarter and faster.

"We need to look at every resource and asset and evaluate its need, want and shelf life to make the best of what we have. Consolidation is a part of that mixture. It doesn’t mean that everything is going to change, but everything will be looked over."

Culver and Johns mentioned Webutuck’s bus transportation network several times as a system that could afford to be trimmed significantly, citing a reduced student population, a high number of stops, double running bus schedules and lengthy athletic away games as resulting in a system that by Johns’ standards "isn’t highly effective."

Whatever the district eventually decides to do, Johns stressed that "it’s going to take some pretty stark measures to keep us out of the red."

This year $440,000 was cut from the budget, and Johns said he was worried that the district’s "take a little here, take a little there" approach in the past two years has brought the district to the point where there’s not a lot left to trim.

"I look at our budget cuts as a form of dieting," Johns said. "The first 10 pounds are a lot easier to lose than the next, and it only gets harder and harder. And if you keep trying to shed pounds, at some point it’s going to get to the point where you feel like you’re amputating fingers and toes."

Currently the cut to state aid is only proposed, and initial plans by Gov. Paterson to see the reduction go through by midyear have been postponed until at least January 2009, according to Kaumeyer.

"The institution that’s holding up the cuts is the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans," Johns said. "In January it will be controlled by Democrats. We’ll see if the power shifts between the aisles."

Johns explained that the further along in the year the cuts happen (and both Johns and Culver believe that they are inevitable), the less they will affect the current year.

"People have been contracted for the entire year," Johns said. "To receive a notice from the state saying that the money [to pay them] won’t be available puts us in a tough situation."

According to Culver, just because the budget was handled a certain way in the past doesn’t mean it’s the right approach today. In fact, he said that the 2009-10 budget schedule is probably the earliest the district has ever started preparation work.

"We have to do everything we can to put a balance on the amount of programs we can offer versus the economic support that the district can offer," Culver said. "The community can’t withstand a double-digit tax increase. We can combine positions, usage and transportation. We can develop more effective energy use. The opportunities are there and we really have to push a sharp pencil going forward. And it’s not just the budget process. We’re looking at reshaping the operating policy so we can have a better, more fiscally viable district."

As the board begins to gather information to determine the district’s options for the future, it is clear that Culver intends to make the most out of a bad situation.

"This board is going to be proactive as opposed to reactive," he concluded. "I refuse to sit idly by while catastrophe comes down the pike. The government has given us as many warnings as they could possibly give, and if people don’t get it by now, shame on them."

The Webutuck Board of Education will next meet Monday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the high school library.