Groton School Board Votes To Close A Middle School

The Groton Board of Education voted 6-3 Monday night to close one of the town’s three middle schools.

Board Member Jennifer Sim said she was concerned about how the board would balance the millions it would need to keep three schools open otherwise.

“I think it’s a very difficult decision,” she said.  “It’s not one I want to make, but I think it has to be made.”

Board Chairman Brian Shirvell and members Kirsten Hoyt, Pat Doyle, Elizabeth Gianacoplos, Robert Peruzzotti and Sim voted in favor. Members Rita Volkmann, Beverly Washington and Chaz Zezulka voted against.

“We have to cut,” said Peruzzotti.  “We have to cut somewhere.”

The board said it will schedule public hearings at each of the schools before the holidays, then consider the options and .

Parent Lisa Tess suggested the board ask parents and teachers what’s important to them, in perhaps a less intimidating setting than a school board meeting.

“Going forward, we need to have a plan,” she said. “And I don’t want you to wait until March or April or May to tell me something. Because I have a kid who is so attached to his school. . .if you close a school, we need to find out sooner rather than later.”

Wes Greenleaf, director of buildings and grounds, said closing Fitch Middle School would be the toughest, because the department would have to make room for portable classrooms at Cutler and accommodate more students at West Side.

Greenleaf said the staff would have to convert the science labs at Cutler into six classrooms, and also build walls at West Side to separate rooms.

Buildings would also need portables.

He estimated four new portables would cost $800,000. To apply for grant money the district must get started by Christmas at the latest, he said.

Greenleaf said if Fitch is closed, he’d probably opt for a combination of new and old portables. He said Groton could disassemble temporary classrooms from Fitch Middle School, then relocate and rebuild them.

Portables at Pleasant Valley Elementary would have to be chopped into pieces, driven to their new locations and reassembled. He said they’re old, they’re on stilts and they’ve collected water over the years so they have poor air quality.

“The maintenance crew can move portables. They can build walls,” he said. “We cannot do it all.”

Zezulka said after visiting the middle schools, he believes all three should stay open.

“I think there is much to be gained by keeping adolescents in small schools,” he said. Zezulka said believes this is best for the children, and decided to try to see where the money might come from.

Rita Volkmann said she objected to the closure because there's no plan.

“There’s so many options that we haven’t really explored,” she said. “We can arbitrarily vote to close a school, not choosing a school of course, because we don’t have a plan.”