DERRY — Plans to close one elementary school and make major changes to how and where students are educated remain intact.
In a 4-3 vote Tuesday night, the School Board decided to move forward with a plan to close Derry Village Elementary School at the end of this school year and put a district restructuring/reorganization effort in place, placing students in preschool through grade 4 in the remaining four elementary schools; grades 5-6 will head to West Running Brook Middle School and grades 7-8 will attend Gilbert H. Hood Middle School.
The vote came following the results of the March 12 election when Derry voters voiced dissent over the school ballot, eventually shooting down a $71 million new school plan, $37 million in capital improvements for schools, and a proposed $103 million operating budget, leaving the board with a lesser default amount to work with.
Many hoped the board would listen to residents and reconsider the school closure and restructuring plan that was approved last year.
But the board majority said no.
“The closure needs to happen,” said newly elected Chairman David Clapp. “I don’t see a need to change it.”
More than 1,800 voters approved a non-binding petition warrant article at the polls asking the board to reconsider.
That included Katie Delay, newly elected to the board in the recent election.
Delay has been a strong proponent for keeping Derry Village Elementary School open and opposing the restructuring plan.
She, along with longtime board member Brenda Willis and Wilbert Danger, also newly elected, voted Tuesday to keep things the way they are while working on other ways to improve schools and offer the best education to students.
But at Tuesday’s meeting, and after much discussion about how to move forward, the board voted to keep things status quo.
There are still many challenges ahead.
With the default budget now in place for next year, administrators and the board will need to find ways to come up with a budget that’s nearly $1 million less than they had asked for.
That could mean reductions in many areas of the district to make up for the budget shortfall, according to Superintendent Austin Garofalo.
“The voters said no you are not getting the school budget you want this year,” Garofalo said. “We budgeted for $103 million, we got $102 million.”
The administration and board will continue talks on how to move ahead with the approved default budget number and what it means for the district.
Garofalo stressed that the restructuring plan and Derry Village closure is the best option. And taxpayers will see money by not having the additional school open.
“And I understand the town is not happy,” he added. “We have to build up trust. The school board needs to make decisions on where this district is going.”
Willis has not supported closing a school from the beginning. She stood by her feelings about what’s the best route forward.
“I still think what I fought for was right,” Willis said. “The plan still feels rushed to me.”
For Delay, the 1,897 people who approved the petitioned article asking the school board to reconsider the plan said going forward with the closure and district change means the board is not listening.
“You are setting the tone that you don’t care about what voters are voting on,” Delay said.
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