WVW superintendent: Closing Schuyler Avenue Elementary 'right thing to do'

May 24—KINGSTON — The Wyoming Valley West School Board and the public got a brief explanation on why the administration proposed closing Schuyler Avenue Elementary school during a public hearing Monday night at the Middle School, then voted to move forward with possible plans to close the 102-year-old building.

And despite earlier warnings that the district faced a $5.5 million shortfall in making the 2022-23 budget, the board passed a proposed budget with no tax increase and revenue projected to exceed expenses. The big change from projected deficit to potential surplus came primarily thanks to 14 to 17 teachers taking advantage of a one-time early retirement incentive, which is expected to save a bit more than $3 million by not replacing them. It also means no teachers are being furloughed.

Superintendent David Tosh opened a state-mandated public hearing about the possible closing of Schuyler shortly after the 6 p.m. start time by thanking parents for showing up to express their thoughts. He recounted the history of the district after several districts merged into Wyoming Valley West in the 1960s with 19 schools. Most of those closed in the ensuing half-century. The decision to close a school "is never to be taken lightly," he said.

Talk of closing Schuyler is almost a decade old, Tosh noted, as the board began discussing additional changes shortly after the new State Street Elementary project was completed in 2012. It came up again in earnest earlier this year when the board discovered the potential $5.5 million shortfall and asked the administration to come up with possible savings.

Buildings and Grounds Director Frank Grevera then gave a short slide presentation showing problems with Schuyler, including the need for a new roof, repointing of bricks, new windows, a new furnace, changes to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a lack of air conditioning or air exhaust system to replenish fresh air in the building — a big concern since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Tosh then said that since coming to work in the district in 1998 he has made a lot of decisions that caused him to lose sleep and struggle with what was best for the students and the district, but not this time. "It's the right thing to do at the right time."

Board Member Paul Keating, who has done much of the work in sorting out district finances since joining the board in December, said there "is no way of balancing the budget without looking very hard at closing this school."

Many parents and at least two students spoke out against the closing, questioning the impact. The biggest concern was increased class sized in other schools that would take in the nearly 200 Schuyler students. Some estimated there would be classes with as many as 35 students, possibly more if the substitute teacher shortage continues and students with no substitutes get split among other classes on some days. "A lot of children can't learn in that environment," one woman said.

A young girl who said she was a student at Schuyler said the students could have a difficult time adjusting to the changes of buildings, teachers and classmates, and asked "how is closing my school going to help my education?"

One parent predicted an increase in students with Individual Education Plans as more of those who need special attention slip through the cracks in larger classes. "Some kids will get left behind."

A 10th grade student who attended Schuyler and has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder praised the attention he got in his early years and asked "what will happen to kids like me? Will they get the close support I did?"

Another parent asked what was being done to maintain the other buildings, most of which are more than 50 years old and in need of repairs and upgrades. Board Member Charles Kamus promised the board is "working on corrective action plans for the rest of the buildings."

Told the board has to legally wait at least 90 days after the hearing to vote on closing Schuyler, several parents warned that would be too late for them to make plans for the coming school year. Tosh stressed the administration has been working hard on finalizing where Schuyler students will be sent, and that he expects to be able to let parents know the fate of their children next year by the end of June, possibly by the end of the school year.

One women who said she taught in the district for 30 years and has been retired for seven supported the closing, noting she had to change schools several times after kindergarten in 1955 in the district. "I think it was more traumatic for my parents than it was for me."

Another woman said she had learned that people had been touring and inspecting the building, as if it were already up for sale, and that the price had been set at $275,000. Keating said the building had been appraised but not put up for sale.

At the end of the hearing Tosh and several others on the Middle School auditorium stage thanked the audience for being civil. Board member William Hardwick promised the audience he will push hard to have an early decisions on where students will go if the building is closed.

The hearing adjourned and the board took a short break before convening a special meeting to approve two agenda items: the proposed budget, and authorizing the administration "to conditionally proceed with its plan regarding Schuyler Avenue School pending the board's final approval at a later date."

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish