Published March 30, 2024
The open Superintendent roles in Sandyston AND Fredon now leave us with a very unique opportunity to ask the question: should we partially consolidate Kittatinny schools?
I don't know all of the facts or answers yet, but I do know a Kittatinny district-wide study is being considered and it should be.
Should Sandyston and Fredon hold off on offering new administrators multi-year contracts while Kittatinny H.S. tries to study the benefits of regionalizing?
I can't say it loud enough. Yes.
Kittatinny H.S. is applying for a grant so they can lead a study that could let us know if there will be a property tax impact and what the academic benefits will be. I am betting there will be many.
I also estimate that it could save us all a minimum of $500K in taxpayer money if we slow down right now and wait for the grant to be approved and the regionalization report to come back before offering long-term contracts to administrators at our very small schools.
Let's start by looking at some of Fredon's and Sandyston's similar challenges as very small schools.
Fredon and Sandyston are both so small that administrators keep leaving for better opportunities. How can you blame them? The pay is almost double in large districts, but smaller districts such as ours help them gain valuable experience before advancing.
This is one of the reasons why a regionalization study is so important to our small schools right now. What will be the benefits? Can the challenges be overcome?
I'll start with the largest "Elephant in the Room."
Challenge 1: What About Staff Cuts?
The horrible truth is that there already are reductions in staff all over our schools because of the state's obliterating rollback in funding. The "choppiness" we are being forced into at each school might be creating more problems.
My best example:
School A cuts its amazing world language teacher to part-time.
School B cuts its amazing world language teacher to part-time.
Both amazing teachers leave for full-time jobs in bigger districts.
Hundreds of kids in 2 schools lose.
In this often-seen scenario, regionalization could help retain one amazing world language teacher at full-time status.
Possible staff cuts if we regionalize in a few years are also another reason not to offer expensive, long-term contracts to new administrators right now.
Challenge 2: The distance from Sandyston to Fredon naturally leads to logistics and transportation questions.
If you're a current elementary parent with a 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th grader, I don't believe your student would be affected by bussing or school changes. By the time anything was changed, these students would already be taking the bus to Kittatinny for middle school.
Challenge 3: Overcoming the perception that regionalization means less local control.
While the makeup of a new Kittatinny District Board may leave Fredon and Sandyston with less seats because of their sizes, the same curriculum is coordinated among the schools and we all fall under the same budget requirements, state laws, and most policies.
There isn’t much individual control left already. We already share most of the really important aspects of running a school well - except consistent leadership.
Challenge 4: Letting enough people know that the openings for Superintendent at both Fredon and Sandyston schools put us all in a unique position to save taxpayer money.
Fredon and Sandyston can help the process if they don't award new administrators big, long-term contracts until the report comes back with more information. If we moved ahead with consolidation in three years (for example), buying out contracts for any new administrators could cost the region way more than necessary.
Either sharing administrators or keeping interim administrators for a year or two will save taxpayers if we do decide to move ahead with regionalization.
What are the benefits of regionalizing the Kittatinny schools?
Benefit 1: Schools could pool money for more curricular and extra-curricular opportunities.
Competitions
Field Trips
Robotics and Engineering
Theater and Musicals
Assemblies and Speakers
Murals and Sculptures
New Sports and Clubs
Financial Literacy
Volunteerism
Social Events
Music Lessons
Swimming
Use of the Kittatinny Auditorium
Benefit 2: One large district would have more negotiating power than smaller schools.
Food Service Bids
Buildings and Grounds Contracts
Insurance Policies
Transportation Costs
Salaries and Benefits
Grant Writing
Benefit 3: One large district might also take up less of everyone’s time for meetings to discuss the same agenda items:
Security Protocols
New Laws
School Calendar
Field Trips
Curriculum and Policy Changes
Evaluations and Professional Development
Benefit 4: Tenure would probably carry over from school to school.
If a staff member with tenure wanted to go somewhere new, there would be other schools with opportunities where tenure could still apply.
We would retain more of our great staff who look for new assignments and enjoy change.
Benefit 5: Schools could order the same academic software and materials.
Buying in bulk always strengthens negotiating power.
More importantly, the same testing materials to check student achievement would help administrators and teachers analyze data and coordinate on areas of need faster, especially for seventh-grade teachers who receive students from four different schools right now.
What Can We Do?
Please talk about regionalization with the schools and get involved. It is a big deal and if we look ahead, we can ensure a lot of wins for taxpayers, parents, staff - and most importantly - the students.
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