Erin Walden and Elizabeth Beilman, News and Tribune
JEFFERSONVILLE — As one Jeffersonville board elects to bring more residents downtown, another may be closing two downtown schools.
In a memo recently sent to school board members and cabinet staff, Greater Clark County School Corp. superintendent Andrew Melin outlined his plans to recommend the closure of Maple and Spring Hill elementary schools after the 2017-2018 school year.
In the memo, Melin explains he believes "moving students to Bridgepoint would provide more equitable programming for them and provide much needed funding relief to our general fund."
Melin cites Chief Financial Officer Tom Dykiel, saying it is projected the district would save $1.4 million annually by closing the schools.
Enrollment at Spring Hill has consistently declined since 2012 while Maple enrollment has overall trended downward, according to the Indiana Department of Education. Both schools have between 200 and 240 students.
Greater Clark has struggled to provide opportunities and services to the two schools at the quantity others receive because of their small sizes, Melin said.
"Ever since I came into this district, the budget has been tight," Melin said Friday at a news conference at the corporation's administration building. "Here we are trying to be competitive in terms of salaries and wages in a competitive market and ... how do we do that when we can't raise the price of our product? We only have so much revenue that comes in, so the only way we generate additional dollars is by really looking at expenditures.
"And the reality is, the cost of keeping both of those buildings open per student is far greater than any of our other schools."
High-quality education is Melin's top priority, he said, but he also has to balance the use of taxpayer dollars.
"If we're going to make moves that makes sense from a student achievement perspective and an economic perspective, it's my job to have a vision for the district," he said.
Melin added that no one employed at either school would lose his or her job by the potential move.
Though Melin does not mention Northaven in the memo, he has named it in previous meetings as a school that would absorb displaced Spring Hill students.
Melin confirmed Friday that "Bridgepoint and Northaven are two areas where students could be moved to."
In a divided vote Tuesday, the GCCS board opted to move forward on renovations that include adding six to eight new classrooms to both Bridgepoint and Northaven elementary schools.
The Bridgepoint project is expected to cost no more than $2 million and Northaven no more than $6 million.
"Could it be with Maple and Spring Hill in mind? Absolutely," Melin said. "Could it be because of other growth we're expecting in our community? Absolutely."
A full transfer of students from one school to another is preferable to redistricting, Melin said.
"Do you close those buildings — which is tough, it's so hard — but do you scatter all those kids?" he said. "Do you redistrict all of Jeffersonville and you scatter kids and you disrupt the entire community? I, as superintendent, do not believe that's the best way to do it."
The news comes just days after the Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission voted to bring more than 220 luxury apartments to downtown Jeffersonville.
“When you have developers spending millions of dollars to build new residential homes, I would like to think the school system’s paying attention to that," Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said. "This will be a devastating effect on not only the children but the surrounding communities of Maple and Spring Hill. You pull a school out of a neighborhood, you’re sucking the life right out of it."
Moore said that Jeffersonville’s east end has seen residential growth, but now city officials are turning their focus to downtown.
“There’s no doubt the numbers right now in Spring Hill and Maple are low, but if you look at the way our downtown is coming back to life, you think you’re obviously going to see in the next five or 10 years a resurgence of young families, young children," Moore said. "I don’t think this decision is taking the future of Jeffersonville growth into consideration."
While Melin recognizes new apartments could bring some families downtown, he doesn't believe that's the market focus of those developers. Instead, he watches growth trends of new single-family homes — and he said the most growth is happening in the northeast corner of Jeffersonville and in Charlestown.
"I have to make sure that if we invest dollars, we're investing them in the right locations," he said.
At least one other resident, Alice Butler, agrees with Moore's sentiment. Butler posted an open letter to the board on the Facebook page "Stop GCCS's Wasteful Spending" just hours after Tuesday's meeting.
"A couple board members voted against the Northaven/Bridgepoint projects last night but only one did so for the right reason.... Not one said they were concerned about the closings of Maple and Spring Hill. This is why the taxpayers are upset with the administration and the Board. We detest being deceived and lied to. It is time for you to tell the people the truth – the whole truth," Butler wrote.
Melin pointed out talk of closing Maple and Spring Hill began before he became superintendent five years ago. He said he wanted to ensure staff was prepared to present its forthcoming recommendations before going public.
"Everything that we're doing is trying to be in the best interest of our students and in the best interest of our community as a whole," he said.
According the memo, Melin intends to bring something concrete before the board in July. The board has the ultimate say on the closures.