“I got some nice thank-yous and some nice notes from the Highview staff,” said Rasmussen, who met with school staff Monday afternoon ahead of the Board of Education’s vote. “They said, ‘Thanks, we know it was tough.’ ”
The compliments are balanced out by the concerns. Some students and their families have mixed emotions about the closing of Verity Middle School and re-purposing Highview, approved by the school board Monday night in an effort to reduce operating costs ahead of next year’s anticipated major cuts in state funding.
“I like (Highview) because it’s close to my house,” said second-grader Madison LaMance, who lives on nearby Glenmore Drive. “But I like the idea of being on a school bus — I like buses,” the 7-year-old said.
Madison’s family should find out which school she will attend next year through a letter sent home before the end of this school year.
Her grandmother, Vicki LaMance, also has a split opinion on the decision.
“Right now it seems fine, but it just depends on where they’re sending them in relation to where they live,” she said of elementary students.
However, as a former sixth-grade teacher at Lakota Schools, LaMance said she supports the creation of a building solely for sixth-graders due to a maturity gap between sixth and seventh grades.
“When they come in at the beginning of the year, they still have an elementary mentality,” she said. “By the time the year ends, you can see their growth and then they’re ready for that move.”
The decision to select Highview as the sixth-grade building was based on a number of factors, including its lower enrollment and central location. In Verity’s case, the decision was strictly a space issue for Middletown’s 900 seventh- and eighth-graders.
“We couldn’t get them all into it,” Rasmussen said. “There could have been some advantages to the Verity campus, but they couldn’t even be considered.”
Consolidating the middle schools was part of the district’s master plan submitted to the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission when the bond issue was passed in 2003 to build the new elementary schools. “It was in the plan all along to eventually combine the schools,” Rasmussen said.
District looks to outsource transportation, custodial work
Middletown City Schools is exploring the outsourcing of transportation and custodial duties as the district continues to tighten its belt.
The school system is asking four companies — Petermann, First Student, Community Bus and Durham Bus Services — for a bid based on certain specifications like how many students are transported, the length of the rides and what time schools begin class. Companies are to respond with bids by March 18.
“We’re in the teaching business, not the transportation, custodial or accounting businesses,” said Superintendent Greg Rasmussen. “The question is if we can deliver the same services more efficiently and economically.”
The district’s total budget for transportation is about $3.4 million. The district holds 51 school buses, 41 full-time drivers and about five substitutes.
Mike Hammond, the district’s transportation supervisor, said the chief concern among his employees is whether they’ll be rehired through a new company.
“We’re anxiously waiting,” he said.
So far, Hammond has spoken with two companies, Petermann and First Student, and both wanted all the drivers back. He’ll be meeting today with Community Bus officials.
Madison, Lakota and Monroe schools all outsource their transportation services to Petermann.
AJ Huff, coordinator of school and community relations at Madison Local Schools, said the school system had used Petermann for years but put out bids last year amid coming financial constraints. The district resigned with Petermann with a more cost-effective deal than the original.
The 2010-11 estimated savings are to be $87,673.00.
“We were pleased enough that we went back to them,” Huff said. “It didn’t really change how we provided transportation for the students but it provided a savings for the district.”
Custodial bid options have not yet begun. Middletown schools outsourced its food services to Sodexo Inc. about five years ago.
No employee cuts were made at that time.
About the Author