PORT ANGELES — The brick and mortar aspect of proposed school closure plans in the Port Angeles School District are concrete but the residual effects on programs such as music and special education aren’t as tangible.
“They’re working both sides, saying they’re not considering programs, but facilities ultimately dictate programs,” said Port Angeles High School orchestra teacher Ron Jones.
Jones was one of more than 30 people who turned out for the district’s second and final community forum Tuesday at Stevens Middle School about proposed school closures.
Changes in programs
Of the teachers, parents and students who gathered, many asked questions about how the school closures will affect programming.
In June, a 16-member Facility Efficiency Task Force delivered a list of six recommended closures to the Port Angeles School Board to offset an expected loss in revenue from dwindling enrollment.
The district expects to lose 370 students over the next four years, which means the loss of $960,000 in state and federal funds.
Of the six proposed recommendations, the task force chose three as their top solutions to the problem.
All three choices include realigning the district’s grade structure from a kindergarten through fifth-grade setting to a kindergarten through sixth-grade.
The grade reconfiguration would scatter sixth-graders among five elementary schools, versus being consolidated at two middle schools.
This poses problems for sixth-grade band and orchestra students, as well as those in accelerated or remedial classes for specific subjects, said Lynn Ross, whose granddaughter just graduated from Stevens Middle School.
“The music and art programs are so important to these kids, and the sport programs,” Ross said.
“[The district] needs something concrete to say to parents these integral things aren’t going to fall by the wayside,” she said.
