School Board responds to former board members’ call for consolidation
May 23, 2024To the Editor,
We read with interest the op-ed posted by former HUUSD board members, “Rightsizing our schools” on May 17. We agree with their argument that all options for the future of the school district should be on the table.
Precisely to address this, the HUUSD School Board has already formed a Finance Committee, which is charged with finding long-term approaches to streamlining the budget process for the district.
The op-ed emphasizes considering school reconfiguration, including closing some district schools. The Finance Committee is considering this and all options.
Closing schools is expensive upfront because we would need to add space in other schools to accommodate students from closed schools. The school board and district voters have to balance short-term initial costs versus long-term savings. In addition, much of the value of a school to its community is not measured in dollars, so this is a complex issue.
Community input on reconfiguration is welcome, either by speaking during public comment at board meetings or emailing the board at cen-huusdboard@huusd.org. We also appreciate commentaries expressing different perspectives as a number of the former board members have done. The board follows the Articles of Agreement approved by our communities in 2017 regarding community input and reconfiguration votes.
We don't agree with the former board members’ request that the district hold an advisory vote on school closures. Since the Finance Committee is considering this issue, we are not committing to an advisory vote at this time. District-wide votes cost money, and spending funds on an unnecessary vote during a budget crisis is counterproductive.
Every budget cut is painful. The proposed budget for the May 30 vote would actually lower our projected education tax rate were it not for recent changes made by Act 127 as well as the complexities of the state’s funding formula. We hope that the former board members and the Harwood district community can support the new budget on the May 30 vote without the board committing to a November 2024 advisory vote at this time.
Sincerely,
The HUUSD School Board