East School spared

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Trustee Dennis Ryan said that he polled community members from ages 18 to 93 to see what they thought, and it was a landslide victory for keeping things as they are. Ryan said that he wanted the option that was least disruptive, but acknowledged that the district’s financial problems would remain.

School board President Patrick Gallagher and Lester also did not want to see East School closed, but pushed for the district to create an early-childhood learning center at the Lido School. This option would put pre-K through first grade in the Lido School, consolidating the younger grades in one building, rather than having them spread out through all four, and spread second through fifth grades throughout East, West and Lindell.

Lester said he felt that the real purpose of the study was drowned out by the emotional clamor surrounding the option of closing East School. He said that in listening to parents and residents at meetings and in emails, it was as if the three other options didn’t exist.

“Unfortunately the rancor that ensued precluded, in my mind, rational discussion,” he said.

Focusing on the financial issues facing the district, Lester explained how the state aid the district receives has remained the same for more than a decade, even though the district’s budget has almost doubled. He said that, with diminishing reserve funds and a decline in property values because of Hurricane Sandy, the district must make changes in order to remain sustainable.

“This district, as well as many others throughout the state, has grave financial issues facing them,” Lester said. “We’re heading into rocky waters.”

Gallagher said he would support an early-childhood center, but with some adjustments to the original plan. He wanted it to be implemented over four or five years in order to be least disruptive and to avoid uprooting hundreds of children at once. He said he also preferred this option because of its potential to save the district money at a time when it is scrounging for savings. He called the East School issue a “red herring” — a distraction from the real issue at hand.

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