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At the School Board's budget hearing last night (December 20), the Burlington Coalition for Community Schools delivered the Open Letter (below), along with all the signatures we have received in the first two days. We continue to encourage supporters of neighborhood schools to sign on to the letter.
The School Board also heard powerful testimony from staff and parents at several Burlington schools about the importance of having a full-time principal, social worker and librarian in each school.
The final version of this letter was delivered to the school board on January 3rd, 2006
Last night the School Board approved a budget which will keep Barnes open as a K-5 for the next school year, but will cut most of the Barnes administration (principal, social worker, librarian), with the administration of Barnes to be done by the Wheeler administration.
It is a victory that we were able to put enough pressure on the board to keep Barnes open, however there are obviously still lots of issues, both in terms of how the school will function with shared administration and in terms of the long-term commitment of Burlington to community schools. We will be having another coalition meeting on Saturday to discuss these and other issues.
The Burlington Coalition for Community Schools urges the School Board not to adopt the Finance Committee's proposal to make Barnes into half a school. This proposal is simply not necessary from a budgetary standpoint. With the good news on health insurance costs, the state tax rate, and Fletcher Allen's interest in renewing its lease at the Ira Allen Building, Acting Superintendent Collins has said that the school board should be able to come up with a budget that keeps Barnes as a K-5 school for the coming school year, with either no or a minimal increase in taxes.
Turning Barnes into a K-2 undercuts the process of setting up a task force to look at achievement of students from low-income families by taking an important option (maintaining Barnes as a neighborhood K-5 school) off the table even before the process starts. Furthermore, this proposal completely fails to address the "equity" issue; if 3-5 graders from the Barnes neighborhood are allowed to attend any school in the district, wealthier parents will tend to move their children to the more "middle-class" schools which require a car to reach, while low-income families will likely send their children to Wheeler, which is in the neighborhood. Turning Barnes into a K-2 with no principal or clerical support essentially sets the school up to fail.
We are glad to see that the School Board is considering establishing a task force to look at the issue of academic achievement of students from low-income families; however, we have concerns about the process proposed by the Curriculum and Policy Committee. Under this proposal, one person (the President of the School Board) will appoint all 15 members of the task force; we have concerns that one person, who may already be committed to a particular outcome, can appoint a committee in a way that fairly and equitably represents all parts of the Burlington community. In particular, we want to make sure that both low-income parents from the Old North End, and front-line educators (teachers and paraeducators) who work at Barnes and Wheeler are represented on the task force. Additionally, we want to be sure that the work of the task force is both public and participatory, so that as many people as possible are allowed to participate in the process.
Finally, we continue to consider any proposal to fully or partially close Lawrence Barnes School to place an unfair burden on parents and residents of the Old North End, a working-class neighborhood which is the most racially and ethnically diverse in Vermont. Should such a proposal be voted in, we plan to immediately explore our options for legal action.
Published by the Burlington Free Press: Thursday, December 8, 2005
The Burlington School Board should put on hold a proposal to partially close Barnes Elementary School and sell "surplus" property specifically earmarked for educational purposes.
Instead, the board should take the time it needs to work with the public to create a comprehensive, long-term plan for improving education in the city while holding down costs for the taxpayers.
The board is considering selling the former Taft Elementary School, which was part of the estate Elihu Taft left to the school district in his 1927 will. That document also stipulated that the property should be used as a shelter for homeless men if the district no longer wanted it to serve a school function.
That's crystal clear.
Now the district might break or contort that proviso and sell the Taft building, which in combination with other changes, would save the district about $450,000. It was suggested to the Free Press recently that the Taft property could be converted to high-end condominiums or residential lofts.
That would be a mistake.
First, Elihu Taft left that valuable property to the district in good faith, making clear his desires for its uses. While it might be legally possible to break that commitment, it would be fundamentally wrong to abuse the trust Taft placed in the district in deeding the property.
More important, it would set an unfortunate precedent that could discourage Vermonters from making such generous gestures in the future. It's hard to imagine anyone's having much faith that the school district would follow his dying wishes after watching the fate of the Taft will.
The second problem with the board's plan is its call to partially close Barnes Elementary School in Burlington's Old North End. Putting aside a previous call to close the school and bus its students to other schools throughout the city, the board is now considering keeping grades kindergarten through second at Barnes and sending the students in grades three through fifth elsewhere. That measure would be temporary while the fate of the school is debated.
That, too, would be a mistake.
While the motive for closing Barnes is well meaning -- to improve the educational options for children in this largely low-income area -- it's clear that this school is more than a place of learning. It's a needed community center. For now, the school should stay fully open to serve its community.
The board means well by trying to raise the academic bar at Barnes Elementary and save taxpayers money.
But there haven't been the public discussions about the specifics or the long-term comprehensive vision needed to assure residents that the plan makes sense into the future.
The school board ought to slow down and continue the public debate on how best to hold down costs while improving education.
In the year Two Thousand Two
Resolved by the City Council of the City of Burlington, as follows:
That WHEREAS, the Superintendent of the Burlington School District has suggested a concept that would result in the consolidation of Burlington school facilities and the closing of a number of schools; and
WHEREAS, the School Superintendent and School Board are to be commended for their willingness to explore alternative ways of providing public education in Burlington; and
WHEREAS, the potential benefits of school consolidation include expanded opportunity for education and social development, as well as possible reductions in long-term operating costs; and
WHEREAS, the disadvantages of the consolidation proposal include the loss of neighborhood schools and the need to transport more students to school; and
WHEREAS, the City of Burlington has endeavored to create community schools, which provide neighborhood-based facilities and opportunities for education, recreation, and community activities; and
WHEREAS, certain school properties have deed restrictions or are subject to zoning regulations that would limit their adaptive re-use; and
WHEREAS, a School Facilities Report has been prepared, and this report identifies the improvements and alterations required by existing school facilities;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this City Council recommends to the School Board and Superintendent that a school consolidation proposal that would result in the closing of schools not be pursued; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the School Facilities Report be thoughtfully reviewed and considered, and that representatives of the School Department are hereby requested to present said report and its findings to the City Council; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council supports neighborhood elementary schools as the public policy of the City and that their maintenance is our priority; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Burlington Board of School Commissioners and the School Superintendent.
Burlington Free Press Editorial
Published: Sunday, November 20, 2005
Schools are more than bricks and mortar. They are village centers, the heart and soul of their neighborhoods, the place where parents catch up on local news and children discover life's lessons and friendships.
Lawrence Barnes Elementary School is just such a place for many residents of the Old North End. For the most part, they love their school. As a community, they feel a pride of ownership in the building and all that it symbolizes.
Closing Barnes would strip the center from this relatively lower-income section of the city that already feels underserved and neglected. The Burlington School Board is considering a proposal to close Barnes as part of a consolidation plan without adequate public involvement, but should withdraw the suggestion for now.
There are several good reasons for keeping Barnes open.
Virtually all the children can walk to school, which is important because many parents in this district don't own cars. Not only would closing the school require busing students to schools in other parts of the city, but their parents would be less able to participate in school events and teacher meetings because of their own transportation difficulties.
In addition, the city of Burlington has put time, effort and money into revitalizing stretches of the Old North End with improved sidewalks, lighting, streets and other quality-of-life measures. Now is not the time to undermine that message of restoration by shutting down something as vital as the local school.
Although enrollment at Barnes has been declining somewhat in recent years, it's clear that lower property values in the Old North End -- along with the revitalization improvements -- might prompt more families to move to this neighborhood. It is hoped that more children of varied economic levels and diverse backgrounds will look to Barnes for their education in the coming years.
Ultimately, the deciding factor must be what is in the best interest of the children. It's hard to believe that they would benefit from the closing of their school — being bused away from their home and friends, shipped to larger classrooms at a time when smaller is widely viewed as better, and no longer able to walk to and from school.
The parents of Barnes students have expressed a willingness to publicly debate closure of the school, a conversation that should include the role of the nearby H.O. Wheeler Elementary School, as well. That discussion should be thorough and take as long as needed to reach a reasonable consensus.
Any decision to close either school needs to follow that public debate. Now is not the time to close Barnes.
At the September 2005 Neighborhood Improvement Night, representatives of the Burlington School District assured residents that school closing were not being discussed, that the public would have a role in making decisions regarding school closings, and should school closings be proposed, that School Board members, residents and the City Council would be given multiple options to consider.
Because of the clear misinformation residents of Wards 2 and 3 received from Burlington School Board and Administration representatives at Neighborhood Improvement Night, the Wards 2 and 3 Joint Neighborhood Planning Assembly demand the following:
1. That representatives of the Burlington School District Administration with decision making power attend the December 8, 2005 meeting of the Wards 2 and 3 Joint Neighborhood Planning Assembly for the purpose of answering questions about and taking comment on the proposal submitted by Lyman Amsden to the School Board on October 25, 2005;
2. That the public be given multiple opportunities to provide feedback and comment on any proposal to close or change the use of a neighborhood school;
3. That the public be given a real and significant role in investigating alternatives to school redistricting and closings.
We are concerned that the proposal made to the Burlington School Board, to close Lawrence Barnes school, was made without any consultation with the people affected, the residents of the Old North End. We share the School Board's desire to improve the academic experiences of low-income students, but we do not believe that closing Barnes will contribute to this goal.
We propose that, instead of rushing to close Lawrence Barnes school, the School District establish a task force, in order to move towards a community consensus on how to improve the academic experiences of low-income students, and how to deal with budget pressures, and that no decisions on school closings be made until the task force completes its work.
This task force should be composed of both school board members and community members, and must specifically include:
* Representatives from the PTOs of all Burlington schools
* The Neighborhood Planning Assemblies
* Representatives of the school staff
In addition to parents and staff from the schools, participation should be invited from organizations representing various constituencies and issues pertinent to poverty and the Old North End, including but not limited to:
* City government: City Council, CEDO, or any other relevant departments
* The Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program and other organizations representing immigrant communities
* Anti-poverty organizations such as Community Action
* Youth organizations
* Housing organizations
* Government, academic and/or nonprofit representatives with experience about transportation issues
In addition to studying the issue, the Task Force must hold public hearings, which must be:
* At least one to be physically held in the Old North End
* Designed to be participatory (not just lectures)
* Open to a wide variety of viewpoints (i.e., not stacked with "experts" of a particular ideological bent)
