Board hears ideas, questions

A chunk of Jay School Board’s meeting in September was devoted to the presentation of a building use study that included several cost-cutting options.
Monday’s gathering brought more questions from the public and suggestions for alternate plans to save money. The board has been focused on cost-cutting because declining enrollment has led to a decrease in state funding (see related story), which has resulted in deficit spending over the last several years.
Several board members engaged in a discussion about the process, with Kristi Betts offering an alternative plan to be analyzed for potential savings. She didn’t discuss details of the plan, but said its focus is to save money while allowing the “East Jay” and “West Jay” identities to continue to exist.
“We’re not making the Eagles become Chiefs, because they’re all going to be Patriots,” said Betts of the plan. “So let’s find a different way to make that happen without removing the identity from one community.
“Maybe not in the same grade configuration they are, but in respect to having the two sides of the county with their long-standing traditions.”
Several of the options presented at the September meeting involved moving all of the county’s eighth graders to Jay County High School and sending all seventh and eighth graders to East Jay. Current Westlawn Elementary School students would be moved to the West Jay building, and the Westlawn building would be closed.
Other options presented last month included:
•Closing Pennville Elementary School and moving those students to Redkey Elementary School.
•Adding classrooms to East and General Shanks elementary schools and closing Judge Haynes Elementary School.
•Constructing classrooms at JCHS and General Shanks as part of a plan to move all eighth graders to the high school, move all fifth graders to the respective middle schools and close Westlawn, Pennville and Judge Haynes.
•Holding a referendum on whether to raise property taxes to bolster the general fund.
The board needs to look for a long-term solution rather than a stop-gap fix that will need to be revisited every few years, Betts said, adding that she doesn’t want to see a group of students get bounced from school to school because of constant changes.
Fellow board member Ron Laux expressed his feeling that any cuts and closings should impact the entire school corporation, rather than just one area.
Pennville resident Joe Vinson also presented a plan to the board that utilized the building study as its base but with a goal of not leaving any community without a school.
He suggested seeking private funding for some programs, something he said the JCHS band and FFA both do successfully, adjusting school district borders and making better use of space in current buildings. He noted that he feels there is more space available at several schools than was indicated in the study while pointing out that East Jay has two gyms, one of which could be converted for classroom use.
Vinson also questioned why the administrative building was not included in the building study and highlighted reducing administrative staff as a potential cost-cutting option.
“I know that’s a tough decision. That’s jobs, and nobody wants to fire anyone. That’s a tough thing to do,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to lose their jobs either. I know a lot of the administrators — great people, probably do great work. In my opinion, if we’re talking about administrative staff versus closing a school, it’s an easy decision.”
Dunkirk resident Wendy Robbins asked board members about their opinions on the potential options, saying she feels it’s important for the public to hear them before there is a vote. She also reiterated a request that has been brought up repeatedly for a town hall meeting on the west side of the county to allow for such an exchange.
Board president Mike Masters responded by saying he expects discussions about opinions on cost-cutting plans to occur at meetings over the next few months and that a town hall meeting is an option.
Former JCHS principal Phil Ford also addressed the board, saying he feels the cost savings — $300,000 per year — estimated for closing Pennville doesn’t seem to him significant compared to the effect it would have on the community. His suggestions echoed Vinson’s in terms of looking at administrative staff.
“Every building in the corporation has had a loss in personnel in the last five years, except for one,” he said, making reference to the administration building. “And one building, the personnel, in terms of numbers and cost, has skyrocketed.”
He added his feeling that it would be beneficial to not just look at the number of employees in the corporation, which at 506 is down from a high of 548 in 2009, but at where those cuts have been made, noting that eliminating some support positions saves far less money than cutting upper level teachers or administrators.
Resident Paula Confer suggested that an audit by a certified public accountant could help the corporation identify areas of potential cost savings.