MCPS says; Monocacy closing to save $50,000, not $1 million

Upcounty residents vow to keep Monocacy Elementary open
Parents say decision to consolidate schools is not being given enough time
by Meghan Tierney
Staff Writer

..."Bigger isn't better, we all know that," said Barnesville Mayor Pete Menke, whose four children graduated from Monocacy. "I've never heard a school board person run for election and say ‘I'm for increasing class size.' You don't have to be big to do it right and do it well."

Weast's memo states that small schools may not be able to offer as many programs and can have trouble balancing class sizes, though schools spokesman Dana Tofig could not name specific educational benefits that would come from consolidation...

...All but $50,000 of the projected cost savings would result from eliminating 11 staff positions, Tofig said. Staff will have the opportunity to transfer, he said.

More than 100 people, including representatives of the cluster's four PTAs, attended a community meeting in Poolesville last week to discuss the proposed consolidation. The community is "greatly concerned," said Cluster Coordinator Sarah Defnet, who said parents have been lobbying the school system to increase enrollment in the cluster for years. She said MCPS is rushing a decision that should be considered on a similar timeframe as a boundary change, which requires an advisory committee of stakeholders to meet in the spring to provide input in advance of a recommendation by the superintendant in mid-October.

Weast has also proposed opening a new elementary school in Clarksburg by 2013. Shifting some Clarksburg students to Monocacy was not considered because it would create long travel distances, Tofig said. The westernmost part of Clarksburg closest to Dickerson is about 10 miles from the school, the same distance as Poolesville Elementary for some Monocacy students...

...The preferred enrollment range for elementary schools is between 300 and 750 students, though departures may occur, according to a four-year-old MCPS administrative regulation for long-range educational facilities planning, which is not a Board of Education policy....

...Tofig did not provide information on how the future enrollment projections were determined by The Gazette's deadline. He said no decisions have been made about the school's site in the county's Agricultural Reserve, where development is restricted to protect farming. MCPS spent $510,000 on a new roof at Monocacy this summer.

Commentary:  The real "savings" in closing Monocacy Elementary is $50,000. The children will transfer to a new school and will need teachers. That means the teachers can walk right over to another school and keep teaching the same kids. No cost savings there. So the only real "savings" will be $50,000.  Thanks to the Gazette reporter Meghan Tierney for making that clear. 

Additionally, there is no Board Policy on minimum school size as Superintendent Weast stated in his October 23, 2009 memorandum.  Again, thanks to the Gazette reporter for pointing that out.

Finally, there is no MCPS data to support the radically new enrollment figures that came out for Monocacy Elementary School on October 23, 2009.

And Superintendent Jerry Weast wants to close the school because of... a dart board?