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Superintendent floats consolidation plan to close schools, move district offices and cut costs
Summary
The superintendent proposed moving fourth- and fifth-grade students from BIS to Blenham and relocating district offices and the alternative school into the BIS facility to reduce buildings and save roughly an estimated $500,000 annually; board asked for enrollment breakdowns, retrofit cost estimates and town-hall engagement before any decision.
During the latter portion of the meeting the superintendent and staff presented a reorganization concept intended to reduce facilities and operating costs: transfer fourth- and fifth-grade students at BIS to Blenham (students already feed there at higher grades), relocate the district office, annex and alternative school into BIS, and close or repurpose several existing facilities.
Staff said Blenham's current enrollment and capacity make it a potentially suitable receiving school and that combining enrollments could reduce the number of administrative positions (principals, librarians, SROs, nurses) and yield operational savings. Staff estimated that consolidating schools and district offices could produce savings in the vicinity of $500,000 annually when accounting for reduced administrative staffing and utilities; they cautioned the number is preliminary and depends on staffing choices and retrofit costs.
Board members raised concerns about downstream impacts on neighboring schools (for example, student counts at CLO/CLIO), transportation and program continuity for career and technical education students who currently use NETC. Several members asked staff to provide a financial breakdown of the projected savings, utility expenses per building, retrofit cost estimates, and a community engagement plan including town halls to solicit public feedback.
The superintendent said this was an initial public presentation of the idea and that formal proposals and detailed cost-benefit analyses would be prepared if the board wants to advance the concept.
