February 16, 2006

To: Elementary Facilities Task Force Committee

From: Jane Wellehan

Re: Notes for EFTF meeting of February 7, 2006

The EFTF met on February 7^th, 2006. In attendance were committee members Jason Toothaker (chair) MaryJo O’Connor, Anita LaChance, Doug Sherwood, Kevin Mallory, , Marysue Morrison, David Turner, Liz Holton, Michelle Butterfield, and Jane Wellehan. Mayor Cohen, Steven Scharf, Ed King from the West End News, Amy Homans, Nathan Clifford Parent, and Ed Bryan, Reiche parent, and Amy Googan, Reiche teacher, were also present.

MaryJo began the meeting with some revisions to plan 1, called (for now) 1A. This consolidation plan, prepared by Kevin Mallory, brought the majority of both the Clifford and Presumpscot populations together at a new school at Baxter. We quickly reviewed the plans with the additional focus of keeping as much of the Clifford population together as possible. The plans were reviewed not for pros & cons, but with an eye to populations, diversity, and bussing requirements. All of these plans would leave 7 anchor schools in Portland.

Reconfiguration Plan #1: Close Clifford Close Presumpscot Build a new elementary school on the old Baxter Site
Pros	Population/Bussing requirements
Good for economic diversity; 50% free & reduced lunch (FRL)	Bussing requirements increase from current needs; 5-6 additional bus routes, with approx. add’l 320 students needing buses;
	Only 88 Clifford Students at new school

Reconfiguration Plan #1A: Close Clifford Close Presumpscot Build a new elementary school on the old Baxter Site
Pros	Population/Bussing requirements
Good for economic diversity; 52% free & reduced lunch (FRL)	Currently, 4 buses required, bussing 250 kids;
	New Scenario: 10 buses, 526 kids bussed; 182 Clifford Students at new school; Bayside East and West (45) would go to Reiche

Reconfiguration Plan #2: Close Clifford Close Presumpscot Build a new elementary school on Douglas Street
Pros	Population/Bussing requirements
Good for economic diversity; 50% free & reduced lunch (FRL)	8 buses, 487 kids bussed
	184 Clifford Students at new school; Bayside East and West (45) would go to Reiche

Reconfiguration Plan #3: (formerly plan 4) Close Clifford Close Presumpscot Build a new elementary school on the Presumpscot site
Pros	Population/Bussing requirements
Good for economic diversity; 50% free & reduced lunch (FRL)	10 Buses, 562 on buses

Reconfiguration Plan #4: (was plan 6) Close Clifford Close Reiche Build a new elementary school on the Douglas St. site
Pros	Population/Bussing requirements
Good for economic diversity; 50% free & reduced lunch (FRL)	6 buses; 381 students on buses (an increase)

After quickly reviewing the changes to transportation, MaryJo asked the group if we could eliminate plan 1 in favor of 1A, the primary change being that 1A (Close Clifford & Presumpscot, build at Baxter) incorporated more Clifford students. All agreed.

MaryJo then spoke up regarding the possibility of Reiche being considered as one of the schools that could be consolidated. She clearly stated that she is against the idea, and that the “Peninsula” of Portland needs 2 schools.

Jason concurred, and said that the open floor plan at Reiche makes it tough to teach kids, and that the school was already fairly high on the states list to renovate (23). He thought potentially we could get more money from the state by not consolidating Reiche.

We spend some time talking about whether we needed to consolidate from 8 to 7 schools. MaryJo talked about the fiscal capacity of the school system and the city to have 8 schools in light of shrinking enrollments, and that the broader “District” view was necessary. Jane Wellehan questioned how much money is actually ever saved by consolidation, and about the effect consolidation would have on the remaining families. Neighborhood schools serve to anchor their community, she argued, and closing another may further the flight of the middle class from the city.

The group will need to continue to meet for up to 2 more months. Mayor Cohen spoke, and agreed that this group, as well as the School Committee and City Council, will need to wrestle with some tough decisions. There will need to be a clear demonstration of savings is consolidation is for economic reasons. He stated that over the last 30 years, Portland has had a history of closing schools, and therefore there is no “right” number. He also stated that the group needs to, in the end, come up with a list of what are the anchor schools for Portland, so that we can then reinvest in these facilities.

Doug Sherwood said that people from the School Department were meeting with City Planners and the DEP to gather the information that they need for their part of the process, and that a joint workshop between the School Board and the City Council is scheduled for February 27^th. For any bond to go to voters to invest in the schools, they will need agreement from 7 City Council members and 5 School Board members.

Mayor Cohen did urge us to complete the work of the committee as quickly as possible, and said that a “3x3” model (3 members from both City Council and School Committee) would need to work together on the findings from the EFTF.

Kevin Mallory handed out another packet of excellent data for everyone on the committee to study before our next meeting. The packet highlighted many demographic changes in the city from Census data, and also many pieces of information that were still missing from the group.

A brief discussion about adding more people to the committee ensued; Jason would welcome new members, with MaryJo objecting that it will hurt the integrity of the committee to continually change the membership. Mayor Cohen added that on City related committees, they felt free to call on the public as much as needed, but that committees, once started, stayed intact.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 1^st room 340 , 4pm, PATHS.

Respectfully submitted,

Jane Wellehan

Secretary, EFTF