New bill seeks “fair standards and fair process” for school closures

By Michael Bielawski

A new bill seeks to formalize the always-controversial process of closing a community’s public elementary school.

The bill is H. 180 which is “An act relating to the closure of an elementary school.” Its purpose is to “create a process by which a school district may be permitted to close an elementary school.” It’s sponsored by 13 lawmakers.

Its primary sponsor is Rep. Herb Olson, D-Starksboro. He and Legislative Counsel Beth St. James spoke with the House Education Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

“Some people say that small community schools are part of that cost [of public education],” Olsen said. “And they also say that some of these smaller schools aren’t providing a good enough education.”

“due process”

The bill’s text says “Communities and their community elementary schools should be afforded due process on a case-by-case basis before an elementary school is closed.”

The current standard is school boards can vote to close a school. This bill would call for additional community involvement including potentially a community vote.

Olson said that he put together H. 180 “to try to be more inclusive, more equitable, a more rational way to look at this issue around small schools.” He said there should be “fair standards and fair process” before any school closes.

Before closing a school, the bill says, “The community, including students, parents, community members, and teachers, should have a meaningful voice. The educational benefits of the school for students should be carefully considered, especially for at-risk students from historically marginalized groups, students from households with low income, and ethnically or linguistically diverse households.”

The economics

It says that the economics of a school closure need to be carefully examined. The savings calculated by the closure should be “measured against all other reasonable savings options.”

Another section states that working closer with neighboring schools should always be considered. It says, “Whether collaboration between neighboring or regional high schools and technical centers can reduce costs, after determining the reasonable amount associated with such collaboration.”

Transportation

The bill requires that transportation challenges be addressed. There should be a “standard used by the district to measure whether transport times for students are reasonable, as well as information specifying the time students will spend being transported from their individual home to a new school and back again.”

A public vote?

It also states that there can be a local vote if the district’s articles of agreement require one.

Olson said in some cases there might be some schools that “just can’t make the grade.”  He suggested in the case of a closure, having a fair process in place for all interests to be heard would “go a long way towards softening the blow.”

The bill states that for proper public notice of a school closure, it must be “at least nine months before issuing its elementary school closure report and publish an elementary school closure report not later than 90 days before making a final decision.”

Olson told the committee that he hopes the concepts he proposes might make their way into a larger education bill if this stand-alone bill is not taken up.

The administration’s take

The administration’s education proposals spearheaded by Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders have suggested that “small schools by necessity” and “small schools by choice” will be examined and if the latter doesn’t make practical sense for the community then potentially a closure may occur.

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All committee transcripts are available at http://www.goldendomevt.com. The Committee meeting video is available on the committee’s YouTube channel. The committee meets in the morning in Room 42.

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle