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(Page 2 of 3) Parents at all of the district’s elementary schools had questions about how their children would be affected by the move and what the district would do to address those situations. “I think class sizes were the main concern for me, questioning how that was going to look and how many kids there was going be per grade,” Barth said. “Also, if we have enough space in town to be able to house those kids that come in from out of town.” The Marion Springs and Vinland areas are close-knit communities, and the schools’ closings will have consequences beyond the pupils and parents. “The closing of the school means also the closing of a community. We do a lot of social activities that brings our community together that supports the school,” said Kim Beilfuss, Marion Springs Community School Organization president. “It’s not just the parents and the kids, it’s also the lifelong members of this community.” As parents try to move on and embrace the new community they’re been forced into, some still find it difficult to see anything other than the negatives of closing the schools. “I’m sure there’s something positive,” Wagner said. “Its kind of hard to see right now. I mean, it’s still very fresh.” Though the decision may be harsh to the community, it wasn’t made easily or without consequence. “I’ve never endured anything more difficult in my life,” said Alison Bauer, president of the Baldwin USD 348 Board of Education. “I’ve had a lot of people say really ugly, ugly things, and it’s just made me tougher. It’ll be all right. I’ll survive, but I think I did what was best for kids.” Paul Dorathy, superintendent of schools for Baldwin City USD 348, said he hoped the projected savings would offset the reduction in state aid. “The estimated total (savings) is about $425,000. That’s conservative,” Dorathy said. “We really believe it will probably save more than that.” The savings will come from building costs for running the two schools as well as cutting positions in the schools. The district will cut six and a half elementary teaching positions and one elementary administrator. Reducing the number of teachers means larger class sizes in the elementary schools. The average class size for fifth-graders will be about 24 students, compared to classes currently average around 18 students per teacher at the rural schools. The lower the school grade, the smaller the class size will get. For example, a fifth-grade class might have 24 students, while a second grade class will have about 20 students. |