New Albany-Clark County school board votes to close four elementary schools

Tara Hettinger, New Albany Tribune

NEW ALBANY —  Hundreds of people sat on the edge of their seats Thursday night anxiously awaiting the few little words that meant so much.

No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

With only Lee Ann Wiseheart and Rebecca Gardenour voting against, the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. board voted in favor of all Superintendent Bruce Hibbard’s recommendations to cut $5.6 million out of this year’s budget, which includes moving fifth-graders to the middle schools and closing Children’s Academy of New Albany, Galena Elementary, Pine View Elementary and Silver Street Elementary effective by the end of this school year.

Many people collapsed in their seats, others clung to one another in tears after hearing the dreaded news.

“I fought so hard for the people of New Albany and I feel like I let them down,” said Kathy Ayres, who had helped spearhead a group years ago dedicated to saving Silver Street. Her youngest will be in sixth grade and out of the elementary school next year.

“I wanted to keep it open for the neighborhood, the property values, for the community.”

Dave Barksdale, Floyd County historian, was shocked by the vote.

“I put a lot more faith in the board than they showed [Thursday night],” he said. “I’m very disappointed ... But we’ll persevere. We’ll get over this. Still, it’s going to be a huge change for the neighborhoods.”

The decision wasn’t made quickly at the meeting, which was held at New Albany High School to accommodate the larger audience filled with hundreds of people. Multiple motions to split up the superintendent’s 40 recommendations that were left to be voted on were all denied.

“It’s going to get worse,” Superintendent Hibbard said of the district’s financial situation. “We can delay it, but the problem is going to reoccur. We need to be more efficient and permanently lower expenditures.”

“The real work starts now,” Hibbard said. “That is to get ready for student and parent open houses and student orientation at their new buildings. [We have to] make sure people know where they are going to go next year and to really create a welcoming environment for the kids that will be moving to a new school. I think we’ve got great teachers and great administrators that will make that happen and we will be better next year than we are this year.”

Hibbard said the changes have some positive affects outside of saving money, which include eliminating split grade-level classes, reducing class sizes and having more instruction time for fifth graders.

The changes:

• Close Children’s Academy of New Albany, Galena, Silver Street and Pine View schools.

• Move fifth-graders to the middle schools.

• Eliminate fourth grade school sponsored extra-curricular athletics.

• Offer a teacher retirement incentive.

• Hibernate three swimming pools.

• Eliminate the director of safety and public information, director of diversity, diversity secretary, director of alternative learning and energy auditor.