ELBRIDGE - Jordan-Elbridge Central School District Superintendent Marilyn Dominick doesn't have to look at figures to know the district's student population is shrinking each year.
“I can see it in my own neighborhood,” said the Jordan resident. “I was surrounded by students who were in middle school or high school. Now, those families still live there, but the kids are no longer in school. Those are houses we don't count in our enrollment anymore.”
When Dominick began her tenure at J-E a decade ago, she led a district 97 students shy of 2,000. Now the district has about 330 fewer students, and there is no evidence the downward spiral will let up anytime soon.
Jordan-Elbridge's case is typical. Every school district within the Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services has seen its student enrollment drop over the past 10 years, some more than others.
But all of them have experienced at least a 10-percent decline, according to unofficial figures provided for the current school year by individual districts.
The average drop for the local districts is 15 percent.
So in a world with fewer students and drying-up state and federal resources - especially in light of the looming financial crisis this year - school leaders are sharpening their pencils and turning their attention inward to their own operations, studying how they use their buildings and staff with the idea of realigning to correspond with the ever-changing matriculation.
“Every time our enrollment goes down, every year we look at what we could possibly do without and as we get smaller, do we really need all the staff we have,” Dominick said.
And the answer has been no, as J-E has downsized over the years, usually reducing staff through attrition by not filling positions left vacant through resignations or retirements. Such reduction was even done in the 2008-09 budget, with the district eliminating one teaching position, two teaching assistant positions and consolidation of non-instructional functions through attrition.
In 2004, when state elected officials were grappling over how to make state aid distribution fairer and local school districts didn't know how much aid to expect,
J-E was forced to scale down to an even greater degree, giving 14 district employees pink slips.
An empty floor at Nelson J. Ramsdell Elementary is further emblematic of the contraction in student enrollment. The middle school building attached to Ramsdell has vacant classrooms. Jordan-Elbridge maintains four buildings on three campuses.
“The way our enrollment is right now, we can't fit on three campuses,” Dominick said. “But eventually, down the road, could we? If it keeps going the way it's going, I wouldn't be surprised if we could do that in five years. But we look at it every year.”
In fact, many school districts are doing just that, with the issue being especially pertinent for the Southern Cayuga Central School District. Enrollment has dropped nearly 400 students in 10 years time while its two buildings, the middle school/high school Poplar Ridge campus on Route 34B and Emily Howland Elementary School two miles up the road, continue to age.
The board of education contracted with the Manlius-based King and King Architects to take a close look at all facilities - the 40-year-old high school and planetarium classroom, 13-year-old middle school extension as well as Emily Howland, which opened in 1954 - and identify the current and future needs.
To correspond with the work conducted by King and King, the board hired Dr. Paul Seversky from the Madison-Oneida BOCES to conduct in-depth research and project future enrollment. It has also formed a long range facilities planning committee.
The information coming from these sources could then be used to devise a proposed capital project and put before voters for approval.
While nothing has been decided in the early stages of the process, board members have previously discussed each of the school buildings, particularly Emily Howland, and how they may relate to the district's future.
In a board meeting last month, Ted Rejman voiced concern that information provided by Seversky about future enrollment could be used to unilaterally close down Emily Howland.
“I don't want this to be a focus on how fast, how soon we can shut Emily Howland down,” he said. “I do not want to see this as a goal in mind...
“At the current time ... Emily Howland happens to be a magnet for this district. ... I'm not saying that it won't be the answer, but what I'm saying is we have to look at all the options.”
Superintendent Mary Kay Worth said moving all students to Poplar Ridge may be easier said than done.
The physical size of the classrooms in the high school building, and even in the newer middle school wing, are much too small to meet current state Education Department requirements.
“It's not as simple as just 'move them in' because we have much more equipment,” she said, noting computers, projectors and other technology, “and in 1968 we didn't have those requirements.
“A building project allows us to get help with clearly understanding capacity on current regulations, and then people will have to make choices and decisions.”
In addition to the technical difficulties of consolidating onto one campus, Worth is mindful of the sentimental value Emily Howland Elementary School has in the hearts of local community members.
“People want to be heard and as long as a good process is used, they will make the right decisions for kids,” she said. “They value education, they truly want the school to be the heart of the community, and in many respects, it's more important than ever that we can do that, that we can be the place where people come together.”
One school district not only considered, but also performed a consolidation of its schools. While the Port Byron Central School District is already located on one campus, district leaders and the board of education went a step further this summer, dissolving the middle school and realigning grades seven through 12.
With student enrollment dropping and state funds fizzling out, Superintendent Neil O'Brien said eliminating Leslie B. Lehn Middle School allows the district to use its staff more efficiently. Now that the “artificial walls” of the middle school have crumbled, staff between the two schools are shared. For example, an eighth-grade teacher can now teach an advanced placement course, and vice versa.
Port Byron eliminated an administrator position in that move, saving the district $70,000 going into a year when the state economy is in recession and cuts to school aid are anticipated.
“In light of the state of the New York budget, those efficiencies will come in handy when we try to deal with declining enrollment and declining resources at the same time,” O'Brien said.
The Auburn Enlarged City School District also acted to make itself more efficient, reconfiguring the existing boundaries that separate the elementary schools last March in order to balance out inequities in enrollment. Faculty members as well as students were reassigned to other schools this September to spread resources and population evenly throughout the five elementary schools.
Declining enrollment is not a trend limited to Cayuga County, said Dominick, who also serves as a director for the central New York chapter of the Rural Schools Association, based out of Cornell University, that advocates for rural schools and its taxpayers.
She said rural schools in the region have been hit hard over the last several years because of the loss of jobs, the weather and an aging population.
And that is coupled by a state aid distribution formula that, while Dominick credits its intent, links state monies to enrollment. In other words, the smaller the enrollment is, the less state aid that district will see.
“The problem for rural schools is that you have to run certain programs, even if you only have one classroom for a grade level,” she said. “You can't cut a classroom because you lose a certain number of kids. They don't all leave in the same grade level, so the economies of scale are just not there for rural schools.
“You have to have a biology teacher. You have to have a home ec teacher.”
While there are programming requirements districts must adhere to, local districts are scrutinizing their organizations and where cuts can be made to be fiscally responsible while also maintaining quality education.
In light of a smaller student population, the Skaneateles Central School District reduced its first grade from six sections to five, and will look at other grade levels in the coming years to see if there can be additional reductions.
“We are looking very closely at our enrollment to see if we can do other reductions at any other grade levels,” Superintendent Phil D'Angelo Jr. said. “Obviously we want to look at class size and personnel and movement of teachers, look at attrition. If we have retirements, that's always a good place to look for any changes.”
For the past several years, D'Angelo has seen new students enter the district around fifth grade or middle school, but this year the enrollment at Waterman and State Street elementary schools have spiked while the high school numbers have decreased. D'Angelo suggested this change could be do to housing prices falling this year, though he noted that Skaneateles is still expensive for a new family just starting out.
“When we got this influx at Waterman, that refuted our assumptions,” he said. “We're not sure what's going on. We do know that enrollments are going down across New York state in all schools. I think what we're seeing in Skaneateles is our enrollment declining, but we're declining at a smaller rate than most schools.”
He also noted, however, that enrollment will increase should these new students in the elementary school continue on through the district until graduation.
“If this keeps happening where we start getting more entrance at the younger grades and they stay to the end, our enrollment will start to go up,” he said. “So maybe we are an anomaly to most other districts.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net
When Dominick began her tenure at J-E a decade ago, she led a district 97 students shy of 2,000. Now the district has about 330 fewer students, and there is no evidence the downward spiral will let up anytime soon.
Jordan-Elbridge's case is typical. Every school district within the Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services has seen its student enrollment drop over the past 10 years, some more than others.
But all of them have experienced at least a 10-percent decline, according to unofficial figures provided for the current school year by individual districts.
The average drop for the local districts is 15 percent.
So in a world with fewer students and drying-up state and federal resources - especially in light of the looming financial crisis this year - school leaders are sharpening their pencils and turning their attention inward to their own operations, studying how they use their buildings and staff with the idea of realigning to correspond with the ever-changing matriculation.
“Every time our enrollment goes down, every year we look at what we could possibly do without and as we get smaller, do we really need all the staff we have,” Dominick said.
And the answer has been no, as J-E has downsized over the years, usually reducing staff through attrition by not filling positions left vacant through resignations or retirements. Such reduction was even done in the 2008-09 budget, with the district eliminating one teaching position, two teaching assistant positions and consolidation of non-instructional functions through attrition.
In 2004, when state elected officials were grappling over how to make state aid distribution fairer and local school districts didn't know how much aid to expect,
J-E was forced to scale down to an even greater degree, giving 14 district employees pink slips.
An empty floor at Nelson J. Ramsdell Elementary is further emblematic of the contraction in student enrollment. The middle school building attached to Ramsdell has vacant classrooms. Jordan-Elbridge maintains four buildings on three campuses.
“The way our enrollment is right now, we can't fit on three campuses,” Dominick said. “But eventually, down the road, could we? If it keeps going the way it's going, I wouldn't be surprised if we could do that in five years. But we look at it every year.”
In fact, many school districts are doing just that, with the issue being especially pertinent for the Southern Cayuga Central School District. Enrollment has dropped nearly 400 students in 10 years time while its two buildings, the middle school/high school Poplar Ridge campus on Route 34B and Emily Howland Elementary School two miles up the road, continue to age.
The board of education contracted with the Manlius-based King and King Architects to take a close look at all facilities - the 40-year-old high school and planetarium classroom, 13-year-old middle school extension as well as Emily Howland, which opened in 1954 - and identify the current and future needs.
To correspond with the work conducted by King and King, the board hired Dr. Paul Seversky from the Madison-Oneida BOCES to conduct in-depth research and project future enrollment. It has also formed a long range facilities planning committee.
The information coming from these sources could then be used to devise a proposed capital project and put before voters for approval.
While nothing has been decided in the early stages of the process, board members have previously discussed each of the school buildings, particularly Emily Howland, and how they may relate to the district's future.
In a board meeting last month, Ted Rejman voiced concern that information provided by Seversky about future enrollment could be used to unilaterally close down Emily Howland.
“I don't want this to be a focus on how fast, how soon we can shut Emily Howland down,” he said. “I do not want to see this as a goal in mind...
“At the current time ... Emily Howland happens to be a magnet for this district. ... I'm not saying that it won't be the answer, but what I'm saying is we have to look at all the options.”
Superintendent Mary Kay Worth said moving all students to Poplar Ridge may be easier said than done.
The physical size of the classrooms in the high school building, and even in the newer middle school wing, are much too small to meet current state Education Department requirements.
“It's not as simple as just 'move them in' because we have much more equipment,” she said, noting computers, projectors and other technology, “and in 1968 we didn't have those requirements.
“A building project allows us to get help with clearly understanding capacity on current regulations, and then people will have to make choices and decisions.”
In addition to the technical difficulties of consolidating onto one campus, Worth is mindful of the sentimental value Emily Howland Elementary School has in the hearts of local community members.
“People want to be heard and as long as a good process is used, they will make the right decisions for kids,” she said. “They value education, they truly want the school to be the heart of the community, and in many respects, it's more important than ever that we can do that, that we can be the place where people come together.”
One school district not only considered, but also performed a consolidation of its schools. While the Port Byron Central School District is already located on one campus, district leaders and the board of education went a step further this summer, dissolving the middle school and realigning grades seven through 12.
With student enrollment dropping and state funds fizzling out, Superintendent Neil O'Brien said eliminating Leslie B. Lehn Middle School allows the district to use its staff more efficiently. Now that the “artificial walls” of the middle school have crumbled, staff between the two schools are shared. For example, an eighth-grade teacher can now teach an advanced placement course, and vice versa.
Port Byron eliminated an administrator position in that move, saving the district $70,000 going into a year when the state economy is in recession and cuts to school aid are anticipated.
“In light of the state of the New York budget, those efficiencies will come in handy when we try to deal with declining enrollment and declining resources at the same time,” O'Brien said.
The Auburn Enlarged City School District also acted to make itself more efficient, reconfiguring the existing boundaries that separate the elementary schools last March in order to balance out inequities in enrollment. Faculty members as well as students were reassigned to other schools this September to spread resources and population evenly throughout the five elementary schools.
Declining enrollment is not a trend limited to Cayuga County, said Dominick, who also serves as a director for the central New York chapter of the Rural Schools Association, based out of Cornell University, that advocates for rural schools and its taxpayers.
She said rural schools in the region have been hit hard over the last several years because of the loss of jobs, the weather and an aging population.
And that is coupled by a state aid distribution formula that, while Dominick credits its intent, links state monies to enrollment. In other words, the smaller the enrollment is, the less state aid that district will see.
“The problem for rural schools is that you have to run certain programs, even if you only have one classroom for a grade level,” she said. “You can't cut a classroom because you lose a certain number of kids. They don't all leave in the same grade level, so the economies of scale are just not there for rural schools.
“You have to have a biology teacher. You have to have a home ec teacher.”
While there are programming requirements districts must adhere to, local districts are scrutinizing their organizations and where cuts can be made to be fiscally responsible while also maintaining quality education.
In light of a smaller student population, the Skaneateles Central School District reduced its first grade from six sections to five, and will look at other grade levels in the coming years to see if there can be additional reductions.
“We are looking very closely at our enrollment to see if we can do other reductions at any other grade levels,” Superintendent Phil D'Angelo Jr. said. “Obviously we want to look at class size and personnel and movement of teachers, look at attrition. If we have retirements, that's always a good place to look for any changes.”
For the past several years, D'Angelo has seen new students enter the district around fifth grade or middle school, but this year the enrollment at Waterman and State Street elementary schools have spiked while the high school numbers have decreased. D'Angelo suggested this change could be do to housing prices falling this year, though he noted that Skaneateles is still expensive for a new family just starting out.
“When we got this influx at Waterman, that refuted our assumptions,” he said. “We're not sure what's going on. We do know that enrollments are going down across New York state in all schools. I think what we're seeing in Skaneateles is our enrollment declining, but we're declining at a smaller rate than most schools.”
He also noted, however, that enrollment will increase should these new students in the elementary school continue on through the district until graduation.
“If this keeps happening where we start getting more entrance at the younger grades and they stay to the end, our enrollment will start to go up,” he said. “So maybe we are an anomaly to most other districts.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net
