Millersburg Elementary School closing and teacher reductions proposed

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

At Tuesday?s Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education meeting, members are faced with the unenviable task of voting on the closing of Millersburg Elementary School and the reduction of their workforce.

?It is a very heartbreaking day for the community,? said Melody Beswick, Millersburg village clerk since 1994. She received a phone call Wednesday from superintendent Bob Szymoniak. It is believed the school has been open since 1950. The board met in workshop session Tuesday to discuss the 2009-2010 budget and resulting ramifications. Also discussed was a recent Title I audit report that was received by the district late last week.

SZYMONIAK SAID Title I money has been used to fund teachers in Millersburg. The program brings federal money to the school with strings attached, the superintendent said.

?According to the audit report, the Onaway School district can no longer spend Title I money to subsidize teachers in Millersburg Elementary,? said Szymoniak. ?This was a big blow to the district financially. ?That fact, coupled with an anticipated $650,000 deficit for the 09-10 school year, has put the district in a difficult financial situation.?

In committee, board members wrestled with ways to make up the shortfall in funding for Millersburg Elementary, as well as the overall district program. It was recommended in committee that the district reduce the deficit by ending the contracts for 4 non-tenured teachers and layoff 2 paraprofessionals.

At Tuesday?s workshop, the board discussed the implications of both the loss of Title I funding for Millersburg and the reduction of four teachers. ?Given that the district could no longer support Millersburg teachers with the Title money, and that there would be four empty elementary classrooms this fall, we discussed moving the remaining classrooms from Millersburg Elementary to Onaway Elementary,? said Szymoniak. Currently there are five classrooms in Millersburg.

?DURING THE discussion it was agreed upon by board members that Millersburg Elementary has been a very good school,? said Szymoniak. ?The education the students received there was excellent, and the culture of the school and community was also excellent.?

Szymoniak added that board members indicated that support for closing the school was not something they took lightly and were deeply saddened by the financial realities that were forcing the issue. It was agreed official action on the workforce reduction and closure of Millersburg Elementary would take place at Tuesday?s board of education meeting.

At the same time, the board has asked Szymoniak to work with Case Township, the village of Millersburg, and Millersburg/Ocqueoc Business Association officials to explore how the building could be used in a way to benefit the community of Millersburg.

FORMER SCHOOL board president Jeff Whitsitt, who owns Pines Lumber of Millersburg and has two grandchildren in the school, would like the board to take a step back and consider their decision carefully, because there is more than one approach to addressing a budget challenge.

?My first thought is that they have a budgetary challenge, and we all do in this environment, but I don?t know of any per pupil cuts in funding,? said Whitsitt when contacted. ?Budget challenges are nothing new for school systems. We all realize that 80 percent of their budget is tied up in personnel costs, so they are going to have to cut some personnel to make any inroads to that. In abandoning the Millersburg building, they (board of education) are making a systemic change to address a budget problem. I?m not sure if that would be warranted.

?I think if you look at the history of the district, the school has been a necessary part of the mix to house our students and offer a

n education. We all understand that there are demographic changes. They?ve happened before and they are going to happen again. Looking down the road I?m seeing lots of possibilities that are student population may grow again, especially with the plant proposed in Rogers City, and who knows what else might change.

Whitsitt also wanted to the board to be aware of the competitive market they are in and that buses from other districts are already ?plying? the Millersburg area. ?That?s something they may have to consider. It might create a ripple effect where we might lose more students,? said Whitsitt.

Beswick said, ?The school is the lifeblood of any community, and we hate to see it go. We wish there was something we could do,? said Beswick. ?I went to school there all of my life, and all of my family did. My children went there, too.?