It’s early September.
Kids (and staff) have been back in school for over a week.
The Board of Education is back in action too.
They’ve got a full plate this year. (Though I can’t imagine any year when they don’t.)
Among the items to tackle: elementary school redistricting.
Last night, at the BOE meeting in the Staples High School cafeteria, superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice was expected to address that topic.
The timeline he planned to propose includes:
- September 19: First presentation of options by demographer Mike Zuba, for public discussion
- October: Continued public discussion
- Winter/spring: Review
- Summer/fall 2025: Phase I implementation (for Bedford Middle School feeder schools).
Planning would then continue in 2025-27 for Phase II (for Coleytown Middle feeder schools). That phase is predicated on the opening of a new Long Lots Elementary School for the 2026-27 school year.
Scarice was expected to note that redistricting is driven by resources, not finances.
While there is no “crisis,” there is a need to “modestly rebalance” the elementary schools, due to enrollment influxes seen since the pandemic. Officials also expect an enrollment spike at Long Lots, following construction of a new building.
Among the criteria Scarice listed in prepared remarks:
- Adherence to natural boundaries; keeping neighborhoods together “to the greatest extent possible.”
- Prioritizing proximity (minimizing travel distances, where possible)
- Minimizing student disruption “to the greatest extent possible.”
In addition, Scarice was expected to say, no student will be redistricted more than once (unless the family moves).
“Grandfathering” 5th graders will be considered, based on capacity and “operational considerations.
A new Long Lots Elementary School is expected to drive enrollment in that district. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
Enrollment figures prepared for last night’s meeting show that as of August 30, the Westport Public Schools had 5,210 students in grades K-12. That’s 73 fewer than called for in budget projections.
That number will change. A second report will be provided after the October 1 to present numbers to the state Department of Education.
At the elementary schools, Coleytown had 37 fewer students than projected, meaning one less kindergarten section than budgeted for.
Greens Farms has 8 fewer students than projected, with one less 1st grade section.
Kings Highway also has 8 fewer students than projected, but no changes in the number of sections (24).
Long Lots has 13 fewer students than projected, but maintains 29 sections.
Saugatuck has 1 more student than projected. Based on disbursement of students, additional sections have been added at grades 3 and 4.
Saugatuck is the only elementary school to see an increase in enrollment this year. (Photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)
The 2 middle schools saw a total decrease of 16 students, while Staples High has 8 more students than projected. The largest classes are freshman and junior.
As of August 30, assistant superintendent John Bayers was to report to the BOE, Westport Public Schools have hired nearly 60 new staff members. Interviews were continuing, to fill remaining vacancies.
The new hires include 27 certified staff members, 3 of whom are administrators.
That’s a decrease of 21 certified staff from last year, though 5 vacancies remained.
The 30-plus non-certified staff include paraprofessionals, secretaries, custodians, and building and long-term substitutes.
The district also welcomes 5 interns, and 19 student teachers.
Scarice was expected to make a presentation to the Board of Education on the “No Place for Hate” program.
Run in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, it’s a district-wide effort to address bias, bullying and hate speech.
Coleytown Middle School faculty member Faith Sweeney will serve as the district’s program coordinator.
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Give student enrollment will likely decline over the next 10-15 years – look at the data folks, it’s true – and given the massive capital investment slated for the new Long Lots school, perhaps Westport should consider consolidating 5 elementary schools into 4. Saves a great deal of operating costs with one less school and kids could be distributed as is already in the works.
Mr. Post might be on to something. At 100 million dollars it certainly deserves some consideration.
Yes. The COVID enrollment blip seems to be subsiding.
Based on the state school enrollment data (edsight.ct.gov), Westport K-5 enrollments are as follows:
2018-2019: 2,268
2019-2020: 2,157
2020-2021: 2,253
2021-2022: 2,328
2022-2023: 2,418
2023-2024: 2,391
And from the latest BOE meeting, actual numbers for the current year are:
2024-2025: 2,363
For a consolidation into 4 schools (including Long Lots that has 5 sections per grade), the elementary school enrollment projections would need to show enrollments consistently below 2,050 students.
I am glad that the comment above mentions that we should look at the data. Here is the link from the WPS website: https://www.westportps.org/district/redistricting-resources
The data does not support 4 elementary schools for Westport school district, unless each elementary school has capacity for more than 600 students, or 5 sections per grade. Only Long Lots has support for 5 sections per grade (with planning capacity of 600 students), and the rest can only support 4 sections per grade (or planning capacity of 479 students).
School enrollment will continue to decline. If you remember Burr Farms School, which was built around 1958 due to a surge of incoming students, no longer exists. It was torn down. Greens Farms School closed down as a school for a while due to a decrease of students. Enrollment will drop and Mr, Post’s suggestion could become a reality and a financial windfall for the town!
The enrollment projections are available on the link I posted above. Based on these projections, the elementary school population will increase and reach a plateau in 7 years with 2,499 students. The data at the moment does not point to a decline, nor does it support school consolidation.