As Sedona-Oak Creek School District works to slice $1.5 million off its budget, talk of closing an elementary school has resurfaced.

The SOCSD Governing Board has held two meetings so far regarding the cost savings of closing either Big Park Community School or West Sedona School, on March 20 and 22. The board also considered an option to keep both schools open, choosing instead to cut down on programs and personnel.

At the end of the Thursday, March 22, meeting, the board voted 3-1 against moving forward with closing an elementary school. Board member Zach Richardson was the lone vote in favor of a school closure. President Randy Hawley, Vice President Heather Hermen and board member Karen McClelland voted against moving forward with school closure. Karl Wiseman was not present.

“I hear from Big Park parents, ‘Don’t close our school,’ echoing what they were saying two years ago, and I’m hearing from West Sedona parents saying, ‘Don’t close our school,’ and they’re saying it for the same reasons: Because it’s a part of the community, and because it’s a neighborhood school,” Hawley said. “… To make a very quick decision about this that’s going to impact this district for a long time, I think is irresponsible for us. I think we ought to find other ways to save.”

The board is operating on a crunched timeline: To close a school, the district needs to hold a forum with at least 10 days’ notice to invite public comment before making a final decision. But the board needs to approve administrative contracts by April 15, and in order to do so, it needs to know how many principals to offer contracts to. With a little more than two weeks until April 15, that leaves just a few days for deliberation before making a final decision on whether to close a school.

Several board members and district administrators expressed that concern that the decision would be made too hastily.

“We can all say probably everybody involved failed in not ringing the alarm bell a year ago or six months ago,” McClelland said “… It seems we need to look at keeping both schools open, getting the new superintendent and starting next year looking at things again.”

With the board’s vote to keep both elementary schools open, each school, including the junior high and high school, faces reductions to programs and personnel.

“The primary focus for West Sedona and the decisions made in reduction of staff was to protect as many classroom positions as possible,” said Scott Keller, principal at West Sedona School. Debbie Jones at Big Park, and Jay Litwicki and Darrin Karuzas at the high school also echoed Keller’s sentiment.

• At West Sedona School, plans are to cut the computers and music programs. In total, the school has proposed cutting 6.1 full-time equivalent positions, equating to 10 people.
• At Big Park Community School, plans are to cut the library and music programs. In total, the school has proposed cutting 3.4 FTE, equating to six people.
• At Sedona Red Rock Junior High and High Schools, programs cut will be digital media productions, theater tech and Red Rock Academy live, which gives RRA students who normally work remotely face-to-face classroom time with a teacher. Thirteen staff members will be impacted, amounting to 7.23 FTE.

The reductions also include cutting counselors at both elementary schools, as well as decreasing counseling hours at the high school, so counselors can teach classes; reducing secretarial hours; reducing the number of special education aides district-wide; and reductions in personnel at the district level, including the communications director and human resources staff.

If the district moved to close a school, it would have about $300,000 in savings, and could potentially funnel it back into those personnel and program cuts, according to budget scenarios presented by finance manager Heather Shaw-Burton. The dollar difference between closing Big Park or West Sedona is minimal — $312,531 estimated saved in closing Big Park, and $307,011 estimated saved in closing West Sedona.

The board next discusses the budget during a regular meeting Tuesday, April 3.

Rebekah Wahlberg can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 117, or email rwahlberg@larsonnewspapers.com