OTWELL — This fall will be the last first day of school at Otwell Elementary. The Pike County school will close its doors after the 2015-2016 school year.
The Pike County School Board voted 4-1 to approve the closing of Otwell, one of the school corporation’s three elementary schools, in its regular meeting Monday night. The school board also approved eliminating seven teaching positions and slicing a principal position by bringing the middle and high schools under one administration (one principal and two assistant principals).
Pike County Schools Superintendent Suzanne Blake said the votes were the result of a failed operation tax referendum for the schools. Pike County voters decisively denied the measure last month. The referendum, which would have raised property taxes 29 cents for every $100 in assessed value, would have provided $2.3 million in annual funding. The district has been running on a deficit in recent years and cannot continue to operate without cuts. School officials expect the district’s expenses to outpace its revenues by about $1.9 million if the district continues spending as it has been. Officials expect to save the district $700,000 by closing Otwell. Combined with the eliminated staff positions, Pike County School Corporation will save roughly $1 million.
“We’ve been pulling money from our rainy day and our general funds,” Blake said. “I have to find ways to reduce reliance on our rainy day fund.”
The building would require $2 to $3 million in renovations in the foreseeable future, a factor that contributed to its closing.
Otwell has been a highly regarded school. In 2011, it was named a National Blue Ribbon School and in 2014 was named to the list of Indiana Four Star Schools. Last school year, Otwell had a 96 percent pass rate on the I-READ 3 test, which measures students’ competency in phonics, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The school averaged 15 students per classroom last school year and had about 120 students in total.
The board decided to keep Otwell open one more year because members felt closing the school on the eastern edge of the county immediately would be too quick, Blake.
“We needed time for the transition,” said Blake, a former Otwell student whose children attended the school. “Now we have the 15-16 school year to move the staff at Otwell to other buildings.”
It is uncertain if all Otwell teachers will have a job elsewhere in the corporation once Otwell is closed. There are currently no plans for the future of the facility.
Pike County’s other elementary schools are in Petersburg and Winslow.
Reports also noted that other cuts within the corporation include some middle school sports and the need for all field trips to be self-funded.
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