Moms Talk Q&A: Should Groton Close One Of Its Middle Schools?

This week in Moms Talk, we're continuing our conversation about the future of the Groton Public Schools.  This column is posted on Wednesdays at 1 p.m., and is a new feature on Groton Patch to reach out to mothers and families, and discuss important parenting and community issues.

This week, the topic is the potential consolidation of Groton's middle schools, an issue that affects not only families, but the community as a whole. The proposed education budget assumes all three middle schools will stay open, but Representative Town Meeting is expected to demand this budget be cut.

By almost all accounts, the middle school buildings are old and inefficient. They are also close to being deemed racially imbalanced by the state. West Side Middle School's student population is about 54 percent minority, Fitch Middle School has a minority population of about 41 percent, and Carl C. Cutler Middle School has a minority population of about 15 percent.

Fitch Middle could take the extra students, but the building is in tough shape. It was built in 1928, and hasn't been renovated in more than 30 years. Any of the middle schools would cost the town millions to bring up to current standards.

The board must decide which school to close, if it's going to close one.

What do you think Groton should do?

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