"I think it's an idea worth discussing."
That idea, Superintendent Brandon Hufnagel said Friday, is exploring a 5-year plan to overhaul the Warren County School District complete with the closure of four elementary schools and the renovations to two existing buildings into K-12 facilities.
Hufnagel outlined his vision of a lean, consolidated school district during a special school board meeting held Monday. Part of his plan includes consolidating grade levels at Sugar Grove and Russell elementary schools; students K-2 would be bused to one school and students in grades 3-5 would be bused to the other.
That could mean longer bus rides for some students residing in Bear Lake and Scandia.
And it's a concern Hufnagel is aware of. "Those are some serious concerns," he said. "We are looking at other avenues. ... But we could eventually reduce class sizes."
Also involved in the restructuring mix would be the Learning Enrichment Center, which would be moved from its North Warren State Hospital location to Allegheny Valley Elementary School in Clarendon; renovations to Sheffield and Eisenhower Middle High school would also begin.
"There are parts of that plan that can stand alone and some that need a sequence," Hufnagel said. "We've been working at putting numbers together for this for over a month."
But the highlight of Hufnagel's proposal would be transforming Eisenhower and Sheffield middle/high schools into K-12 facilities, a move that would close four elementary schools. Those schools include Sugar Grove, Russell, Allegheny Valley and Sheffield elementary schools.
The plan could save the school district $1.9 million over five years, Hufnagel estimates.
But for this plan, or any proposal, to come to fruition, the superintendent says action needs to be take now. "If the board is truly interested in looking at this, we need to start having discussions now and have a concrete plan," Hufnagel said. He added that if a proposal was approved, next year would be considered "year-one" of the 5-year plan.
"The 2012-13 school year is what we're using as year-one," he said. "We would take the remainder of this year to plan and prepare. We have to do something different."
But those affected most by the potential restructuring aren't buying the "last second pitch" to save Eisenhower.
Hufnagel's proposal was dubbed "fairy dust" by a charter group during a special school board hearing Wednesday night where the school district's 2012-13 preliminary budget was approved.
Anne Farrell, wife of Dr. Pat Farrell, president of the Eisenhower Charter School board of trustees, read a letter to the school board, calling the five-year plan "not fiscally responsible."
"And so it appears that in the 11th hour, knowing that they need just one unsuspecting and well meaning school board member to believe their vision, that the leadership of the Warren County School District begins to sprinkle fairy dust over the eyes of the community. Possibly well intentioned fairy dust, but dust nonetheless," Farrell said.
Asked for comment on the "fairy dust" remarks, Hufnagel declined. He also declined to comment on what a charter school would do to the proposal, noting simply, "If that's what's approved we'll have to take a look at the entire plan and do something else."