When Bartlett and Cutler Elementary students exit their school buildings on June 3, it won’t just be for the summer.
A week ago, the Warren Local Board of Education voted 4-1 to follow Superintendent Tom Gibbs’ recommendation and close the two schools, as a way of saving about $525,000 a year through cuts in personnel, utility savings and reduced transportation costs. The students will be split between Barlow-Vincent and Little Hocking Elementary schools. Parents will be offered the option of open enrollment as well.
In the week following the announcement, local residents expressed concern over the consolidation.
“This is affecting everyone in the community,” said Stephanie Sydenstricker, 33, who has three daughters attending Bartlett. “I don’t have anything against Barlow-Vincent, but they’ve been going to school with the same people since kindergarten and now you’re sending them to a different school.”
She said that two of her daughters were fine with the transition, but one of them was very upset.
“There isn’t really anything we can do about it,” she said. “It’s the children who are affected more than anything.”
Sydenstricker said in a close-knit community such as Bartlett, the closing of the elementary school will affect everyone.
“They aren’t saving any money,” said Larry Chesser 62, of Bartlett, who has three grandchildren attending Bartlett Elementary School.
He said longer bus routes could cancel out anything they saved through closing down the two schools.
“It’s terrible,” he said. “The classes (at Barlow-Vincent) are over-crowded now, and they’re adding more kids to it.”
Sherri Kaltenbach, 31, of Cutler who attended both schools and has three children who attended both, said she was very upset to hear the board’s decision.
“Cutler is the only elementary school in Warren district with an excellent rating,” she said. “It seems ridiculous to me to close it and Bartlett both. I realize that funds are tight right now, but there were other ways to save money.”
Kaltenbach said the superintendent’s office could comfortably get by with one secretary and eliminate the other two. She also said they could have cut out the assistant superintendent’s position and saved $118,000.
She plans to attend the board of education meeting in June to ask school officials to start cutting some of these positions.
“I am tired of hearing that these schools closing was the only way to save money other than cutting things like gym and art,” she said. “It’s not the only way.”
Some said the school district will have a hard time getting money from the voters after closing the two schools.
“They want us to vote for their school levies,” said Gerald Lefon of Bartlett. “They’re not going to get them now.”
The district, facing a $5.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2012, is expected to save $404,880 a year when it closes Bartlett Elementary and $125,000 a year when it closes Cutler Elementary.
