Cranford Could Shake Up Schools With Redistricting Plan

CRANFORD, NJ - The Cranford Board of Education and Superintendent Scott Rubin may not be looking for a confrontation at Tuesday's community meeting about the future of the school district, but chances are they will find one nonetheless.

The "Reimagining Cranford Public Schools" meetings are said to be about a new Strategic Plan and will focus on the district’s new mission, vision, goals, and action plans which will guide the next five years.

Included in those plans could be redistricting, the process of changing school attendance zones within a school district. This would mean students that currently walk to and from schools in their neighborhood, would have to be bussed to new schools further away. According to a change.org petition and emails sent to Patch, that is something that residents have already taken issue with.

"We need to make our voices heard before it is just a done deal and our little village is changed forever," organizer Megan Scanielo wrote on the petition website. "We are all grateful we have it so good here, most of us work very hard to have it, and chose our homes based on the feelings we had and how we imagined raising our families. I truly believe the fabric of this town, a large part of what makes it great, is based on the fact that our families and schools are so close knit."

Rubin said that despite the fact that the Cranford School District is high performing, changes must be made to ensure it remains so.

"Our goal should always be to work collaboratively to find ways to enhance our programs and provide even greater opportunities for our students," Rubin said.

Rubin said that the meetings, held at Cranford High School on Oct. 30, Nov. 28, and Dec. 17 will address some of the topics that have revealed themselves through Rubin's initial "look, listen, and learn tour."

"Topics will include implementing a full-day kindergarten program at four K-2 neighborhood schools, creating one comprehensive 3-5 grade school, and creating one comprehensive 6-8 grade middle school, all of which would provide students even greater opportunities and ensure greater equity and consistency at all schools," Rubin said. "Additional discussion points will include establishing career academies at Cranford High School and potential referendum items."

The possibility of assigning students to different schools, that are no longer walkable distance from their homes, have many taking exception to the plan.

"I was born and raised here and walked to school from third grade until I got my license. I recently graduated from college and I always knew Cranford would be where I would come back to," Julie Siragusa told Patch. "What we have here is so rare and special. I can’t imagine kids not walking and the streets filled with buses. It is definitely not the place I grew up or would want for my future family. I just don’t understand why are we trying to hard to fix/change something that isn’t broken?"

Others told Patch that they were concerned about the financial implications of the change.

"The negatives of the proposed plan far outweigh the positives. It was confirmed at the Board of Ed meeting on Tuesday that our property taxes will definitely increase. Traffic during the morning commute will become even more nightmarish in that North Side residents will be crossing town to get to Hillside Avenue School at the exact same time that South Side residents are crossing town to get to Orange Avenue School," Michelle May Verno said. "The idea of busing kids to and from school is completely counterintuitive to the reason I chose to purchase a home in Cranford in the first place: neighborhood schools where parents, kids and teachers can connect at drop-off, pick-up and even after school at the playground. Our schools are already consistently ranked among the highest in the state. This just makes no sense."

George Marmarou wrote on the petition that these decisions were tied into the 225 new housing units proposed for Walnut Avenue.

"Restructuring will make it easier for school system to absorb the influx of students from the 750 Walnut project and all day kindergarten is a great selling point for potential occupants," Marmarou said. "When folks tell you they want to make our beloved town the next Hoboken, believe them."

Caren Villarreal questioned the transparency of the plan.

"At the outset there are many aspects of this that appear irresponsible, not well thought out and non-transparent. Transporting children across town can be damaging and disruptive to them on many levels including safety, wellness and social and emotional well being," Villarreal said. "We have built a wonderfully supportive community here in Cranford and the rezoning plan threatens to tear it apart."

Scanielo said on the petition site that the independence of walking home was priceless.

"Parents who work are happy their kids can do any after school club and just walk home," Scanielo said. "Are there going to 80 kids trying out for sports, band, the play? How is that fair? How will that impact kids at an age when they need to be involved and have a sense of belonging."

Terry Darling, a candidate for Cranford Board of Education, said that the many negatives of regarding the plan are easy to see on the surface.

"The board stated they felt a responsibility to introduce this as an option to the community. If you take them at their word, and I do, they believe the benefits are significant enough to justify the challenges this proposal may bring," Darling said. "The board was surely aware the community would have a strong reaction, and they proposed the plan anyway. It appears the board believes in the potential benefits for our students now and in the future."

Darling also said that this was still in the proposal stage, and the community is being asked to be involved now to help shape the future.

"In order to promote community involvement in the process, several pieces were intentionally left unresolved," Darling said. "A referendum vote is likely no sooner than December 2019, allowing ample time for civil debate and collaboration."

Darling said he is not advocating for support of the proposal, but also not opposed to it.

"How could I when so many details remain unknown? I do intend to listen to the proposal despite that fact there are significant things about it I dislike. The potential of adding full day kindergarten is important to the future of this school district and this community. Beyond full day kindergarten this plan has other benefits that I do not yet fully understand," Darling said. "I don’t know if those benefits make the proposal worthwhile or not, but I am committed to having an open mind and to being diligent in learning more about it and contributing to the process."

Rubin wrote in an email to parents that the district is looking forward to engaging in a conversation about what the benefits of a reimagined Cranford Public Schools might look like.

Residents like Courtney Byrne told Patch they don't see an upside to the plan as it has been presented thus far.

"The BOE can't pinpoint what this is solving and what it will cost," Byrne said. "So far I only see ways it will hurt our children's education and how it could damage the fabric of our community."

(Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

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