Officials Stress No Newtown Schools to Close as Town Discusses Declining Enrollment

Newtown High School (shown here) is one of the schools that is safe from being closed due to declining enrollment.

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By Rebecca Carnes

While Superintendent Dr. Joseph Erardi is stressing that there will be no closing of a school and subsequent redistricting for this upcoming 2015-16 school year, there is serious talk about the likelihood of closing a school in 2016-17 due to declining enrollment.

The only schools that are off-the-table in terms of possible closure are the Newtown High School and the Sandy Hook Elementary school which will without question reopen with a new building on its old property for the 2016-17 school year, Erardi said.

Newtown’s school enrollment is dipping by 195 students for the next school year and a recent facilities study showed that Newtown’s enrollment numbers are projected to continue to decline by about 200 students per year for the next 20 years. As an example, the current high school capacity is 2,000 students but current enrollment is at 1,725 students. The study showed that ten years from now, high school enrollment could drop to about 1,000 students.

The Sandy Hook school, currently based in Monroe, now has 340 students with a 600 maximum capacity. The capacity of the new Sandy Hook school being built will be 500 students.

Dr. Erardi stressed that enrollment declines are not exclusive to Newtown and that many suburban districts of similar size are experiencing declines.

Results from an internal district study on enrollment will be revealed to the Board of Education at its June 2 meeting. The Board of Education will review the report and then soon make a recommendation on closing a school. Dr. Erardi stressed that only the Board of Education can act on closing a Newtown public school.

The community forum highlighting declining enrollment in schools is scheduled for Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. in the high school lecture hall.

At a recent Hawley School PTA meeting in town, some parents expressed concern about their children being redistricted to Sandy Hook School if another elementary school is closed. One parent inquired as to whether the Sandy Hook school name would be changed.

“That has been a discussion point, but no decision has been made,” said Dr. Erardi, stressing that his priority is to make sure the families and staff of the school, as well as the families of the victims have their voices “heard and respected.”

In discussing the reopening of the Sandy Hook school on its old site, Dr. Erardi said he has encountered mixed feelings from staff.

“For some faculty and staff that I’ve talked to, some staff members feel they can go back and some can’t even drive back to that area of town,” Erardi said.

Image credit: Rebecca Carnes

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