BOE divided, delays decision to close school

Today’s Enquirer reports the NCS Board of Education did not take a vote to close to a school during yesterday’s special meetings; instead, they’ve decided to discuss the downsizing issue again at their 5:30 p.m. August 18 committee meeting. Board members did agree on one thing, however. They don't want to change to a K-8 configuration in the elementary schools.

The board was given 3 options from which to choose:
1. Close a building: Carolyn Atwood and Cherie Scott-Geraci said a building should be closed, but no consensus was reached on which one.

2. Put a levy on the ballot: Rick Guy suggested leaving all elementaries in place and going to the voters for more money. "I don't want to see any of them close. ... I don't see that it's the right thing to do right now. I just don't feel it."

3. Make deep cuts: "We just have to bite the bullet," Scott-Geraci said. "We either close a building or deep-cut staff. I don't recommend deep-cutting staff, because that's our livelihood. That's what we do."

Board President Ken Miracle and member Scott Faulkner favor yet another option: find out why one in four school-age Norwood children don't attend public school and try to recruit them. Faulkner told the Enquirer, "We need to stay the course we are now. What can we do to make the numbers go up? What can we do to change the way people feel about us?" The Enquirer article states, “Ken Miracle sees some hope in a possible Norwood version of the Kalamazoo Promise, where Kalamazoo, Mich., students who are eligible to attend college get the costs paid by donors….the district is considering trying to pursue it here to attract students.”

For more on the Kalamazoo Promise, click here and here.