BOE Opts to Keep $75,000 in Budget for Utilization Study

The Board of Education is moving ahead with its plan to have a building utilization study completed as the board considers the future of the school district.

The study would be the second step in assessing the impact of declining enrollment, as well as other infrastructure needs following last year's demographic study which estimated a 20 percent decline in student enrollment by the year 2021.

On March 20, board members voted down a recommendation from administrators to remove $75,000 included in next year's $35.58 million proposed school budget to pay for the study.

"I would be concerned with delaying the utilization study even one year," said board member Robert Fulton. "I think it's imperative that we embark on that as soon as possible."

Fulton, who also serves as chairman of the board's finance committee, has been the leading proponent of a utilization study. The committee has already met with four firms to get an idea of what to expect from such a review.

"If we were to do a utilization study this year it would take about six to nine months to do. Any implementation of that's going to be a long term process, 3-5 years before we get some plans in place and on the drawing board," he said.

Student enrollment in District 13 has dropped by 160 students over the past two years, much of which has occurred at the elementary school level.

Enrollment at Strong Middle School and Coginchaug High School is expected to remain steady for several more years, officials have said. As a result, the utilization study would focus on the four remaining schools, according to Fulton.

In addition to considering the number of students, the study would also define the district's infrastructure needs.

"I think we are very concerned about our physical capacity to meet the changing needs that come out of the changing technology and the increased use of technology in our buildings and we are already seeing that we are maxed out in a couple of schools," said board chairman Kerrie Flanagan.

"There's a lot more to the utilization study than just switching students from one location into another building. It's a question of...really taking a look at how all of the buildings are used, where are we going with education, and how do those buildings need to be changed," she said.

Flanagan also said she is concerned about spending money on capital improvements without a utilization study which could later determine that those improvements were unnecessary.

This week, , while maintaining funding for the utilization study.

Despite the reductions, Fulton said declining enrollment will eventually force the board to address staffing.

"I hear all the reasons of considerations for why we can't be addressing, or why we have to not address staffing but at some point in time it's going to become inevitable," Fulton said.

The school board will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Strong School.