Emotions Run High as Farmington Considers Closing 6 Schools

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Farmington Public Schools could shutter six schools in the coming years to offset declining enrollment and increased costs.

More than 100 parents and community members attended a heated informational meeting Tuesday, according to reports in The Detroit News and Hometownlife.com.

Among the schools that could be closed are Harrison High School; Beechview, Highmeadow and Kenbrook elementary schools; Warner Upper Elementary and O.E. Dunckel Middle schools.

“This is not a decision-making night – this is is a learning night for us,” new school board president Howard Wallach said.

Farmington Schools’ enrollment has plummeted by about 2,000 students since the early days of the Great Recession, and the district’s schools are aging, said Paul Willis, a consultant with Plante Moran CRESA hired to make recommendations to the school board on how to address the budget crisis.

Three public hearings on restructuring proposals are planned before November, when final recommendation will be presented to the school board. It’s unclear when the school board might decide the recommendations, which could take effect at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.

The recommendations also include some grade realignment, closing or repurposing support facilities, including administrative and transportation facilities, and moving those operations to other sites. Vacant buildings would be sold.

It was the potential closing of Harrison High, one of four high schools in the district, that drew some of the most heated response.

John Herrington – with 52 years under his belt, Harrison High’s longest-tenured teacher and the only football coach in its history – made an emotional appeal to save it.

“My heart and soul is here,” he said. “I cannot imagine closing a school of that caliber. We’ve got a lot of supporters out there that really want Harrison to stay open.”

Harrison parent Sandra Rivett acknowledged the school board has a tough job ahead and urged members to consider what’s best for stuents and take their time making a decision.

“I just hope they listen … I think timing is very crucial,” Rivett said. “The decision doesn’t need to be rushed. … Nobody wants to see a school closed.”

Students and former students also vented their frustration.

“Closing a high school means so much to the students,” said Harrison High student Elizabeth Pappasid. “And you have to realize it’s the people you are hurting.”

“You can crunch the numbers all you want,” said Harrison graduate Julia Wang, now an Honors College sudent at the University of Michigan, “but numbers don’t make the community.”

Superintendent George Heitsch said there’s no “easy solution.”

“At the end of the day we are a teaching and learning organization and we have to maximize the resources we have to provide the best capacity for teaching and learning,” he said.

Arguments in favor of repurposing Harrison include its central location in the district and ability to absorb relocated programs or operations, as well as the “connectivity of high-speed fiber and potential for collaborative uses with the community and municipality,” according to the consultants’ recommendations.

Farmington Public Schools serve more than 10,000 students living in Farmington, Farmington Hills and a portion of West Bloomfield, according to the district’s website. The district maintains four high schools, two middle schools, two upper elementary schools and two early childhood centers.

The district also operates community site for alternative education; an English as a second language program; the Cloverdale school for students with mental impairments, ages 3-26; and Visions Unlimited, a post-high school special education program for students ages 19-26.