CLAREMONT — Officials are considering a plan that would have students at the city’s three elementary schools consolidate into two buildings.
A proposal would have Bluff Elementary School close and send 170 students in grades K-5 to Maple Avenue and Disnard schools.
In a message to school staff that was posted to social media on Sunday, Bluff Principal Dale Chenette said the school can no longer meet its legal obligation to provide special education services because of a district-wide hiring and spending freeze, which are a result of the district’s ongoing financial crisis.
“Employment uncertainty and staff resignations” have compounded the problem, Chenette said in the message.
Administrators plan to propose an “emergency restructuring” that would send students to other schools, Chenette said in his message to school staff.
A letter addressed to families of Bluff fifth graders that was shared with a reporter after school on Monday said those students will be all going to Disnard Elementary on Hanover Street. The letter did not mention where other grades would be assigned.
The letter to families reiterated the points in Chenette’s letter to the staff: The school could not meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, and therefore the consensus was that Bluff should close and students should go where special education services are available.
When the district’s troubles with cash flow and a significant deficit — estimated to be about $3 million — first surfaced publicly in mid-August, the School Board and administration took immediate steps to cut expenses.
This included laying off 20 district employees — including custodians and secretaries — and canceling the hiring of 19 new teachers.
In a letter to parents the day before school started on Aug. 28, Chenette acknowledged the challenges brought on by a spending and hiring freeze and outlined how the school would operate with fewer classrooms.
He promised families that the school would meet those challenges and make it a “great year” at Bluff.
It is now clear that starting the school year without a viable staffing plan was premature, Tammy Yates, a Bluff teacher and president of the Sugar River Education Association, the union representing the district’s teachers, said in a statement late Monday.
“To say the rapid-fire changes and rumors have been destabilizing would be an understatement,” Yates said. “The pressure being placed on teachers and staff right now is untenable and the demands are demoralizing and not in the best interest of Claremont’s children.”
Teachers are being challenged to simultaneously teach, soothe students’ anxieties and navigate their own emotions on issues outside of their control, Yates said.
“Every parent and caregiver who has ever helped a kid navigate a switch to a new school knows these transitions can be tricky,” Yates continued. “Children need time to adjust. They need care and support. But we’re not in a place to provide that to them. It’s unfair for us, it’s unfair for them, and it’s unfair for their families.”
The chaos will have negative impacts on learning and students’ social and emotional health, Yates predicted.
“Educators nor students nor their families made this mess — but we are suffering the consequences. Claremont deserves better.”
Neither Chenette, interim Superintendent Patrick O’Hearn nor School Board Chairwoman Heather Whitney responded to requests for comment on Monday.
Parents and grandparents waiting to pick up their children from Bluff on Monday afternoon said they thought closing the school, especially after classes have started, was a bad idea and would be disruptive for the students.
“I’m not very impressed about it.” said Stephanie Kimball, waiting with her father for her son, a second grader. “My kid has done well here and this will deeply upset him. Opening the school for a few days then closing it makes no sense.”
A few cars away, Susan Ohlson was waiting for her granddaughter, a second grader at Bluff.
“I’m not happy about it,” Ohlson said. “Pulling them out of (a) school they are familiar with and throwing them into a whole new school is going to be hard. It is frustrating to learn this a week after school started.”
The School Board is scheduled to hold a special meeting Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center, 111 South St., Claremont.