Parents and students at two of Wayland's elementary schools are waiting for a decision, due next week, on which school will offer classes only for kindergartners and which will remain a full first-grade through fifth-grade operation when classes resume in the fall.
School Committee members approved the change last week, but without settling on whether the Happy Hollow School or the Loker School would be kindergarten-only in September. They initially decided that Happy Hollow would remain as an elementary school, but following several hours of debate last week the committee said that a final decision would wait until a public hearing Monday. The town's third elementary school, Claypit Hill, will keep its grades 1-5 configuration either way, officials said.
"The final decision has not been made," said School Committee chairwoman Barbara Fletcher.
Kate Moore, a Loker School parent, expressed dismay at the proposed change, which school officials said is a response to the district's tight budget and a declining enrollment in the elementary grades.
"It's a huge disappointment because I like the school," said Moore, who has two children in Loker and a third child who went from there to middle school. "Our experience at Loker has been fantastic, with some of the best teachers I've ever known." Moore, like other Loker parents, questions some of the reasons that have surfaced in the debate.
"I've come to believe that some of what I believe to be factually based truths may not be very important," Moore said.
Happy Hollow parent Richard Stafford was also partisan toward the school his children attended.
"We're walkers to Happy Hollow, so we would certainly prefer that Happy Hollow be the one that stays open," said Stafford, who has two boys at the school and an 11-month-old future student at home. "I can understand the decreasing enrollment - something has to change - so I don't really have a problem with trying to save some money by consolidating."
He noted that if Happy Hollow stays open, "We won't be affected other than the increased classroom sizes."
The change, which would also involve cutting a number of faculty and staff jobs, is projected to save $250,000 to $300,000 a year. School officials say that the trimmed positions could include a principal, two classroom teachers, a teacher's assistant, a librarian, and partial funding for a music teacher and guidance counselor.
This school year, Happy Hollow and Loker each have about 350 students, while Claypit Hill has more than 500. The town's total enrollment in the elementary grades is projected to drop by 31 students in the fall, continuing a pattern that started about five years ago and is expected to continue for another four, school officials said.
At the same time, mounting school costs are a primary reason why the Finance Committee is expected to recommend that selectmen approve seeking a $1.9 million property-tax increase this spring. About $1.5 million of the Proposition 2 1/2 override, which requires the approval of Town Meeting and a townwide election, would go to the schools to offset increases in items such as salaries, utilities, special education, and transportation.
"Wayland is facing a financial crisis as many communities are, and we have declining elementary enrollments," said the school district's superintendent, Gary Burton. "It becomes feasible from a financial standpoint, and the standpoint of the number of students, to consolidate or reconfigure our three elementary schools into two."
With decreasing enrollment, school officials have said, combining grades 1-5 from Happy Hollow and Loker would increase class size by about one student per classroom. The Claypit Hill School would shift its kindergarteners to the single-grade school, and take some of the overflow from the other schools. The average class size at Claypit may decrease, depending on enrollment next year, officials say.
Conrad Gees, president of Wayland Teachers Association and an elementary school teacher, said the shift is "a premature move by a couple of years."
"But," Gees added, "if this is what they need to do to pass an override, then we support it because a failed override would really be the worst thing for the town."
The large number of students who walk to Happy Hollow might make keeping it as the elementary school a better decision, from the standpoint of transportation savings, officials said. They also point out that Happy Hollow has a cafeteria kitchen, a new roof, and more parking. Loker has no kitchen, and will need a roof in the next several years.
But Moore questions the rationale.
"From my perspective, I understand that Loker doesn't have a kitchen, so you can't cook, but I have a growing uncertainty about the importance of the facts," Moore said. For example, the Loker School will need a new roof regardless of the age of its students, she noted.
Fellow Loker parent Jane Vanelli also questioned why the school that three of her sons attend should close.
"Loker has more square footage, two or three more classrooms, bigger ground, and a new $1 million gym built in 1999," she said.
"It just feels like the process was not thought out. It was sort of announced and then there was a lot of trying to fit the numbers to fit the decision."
Happy Hollow parent Karin Dussault said her family will have to deal with the changes. But she also expressed a broader concern.
"We're going to do what we're told," said Dussault, who has twins attending first-grade this year. "We don't want to leave the town, but we obviously don't want the disruption for any kids to have to deal with. We don't want to see any of the schools close.
"Obviously being at Happy Hollow, I'd rather see the other one close, but I think if we're not going to get the funding we need, something needs to be done," Dussault said.
"I think we need to work together in Wayland as a community to make the right decision."
