After 134 years, school's closing leaves community heartbroken
They roamed the wide hallways, gathered in the large classrooms, and on the center stairway. They ate cake and chatted. They looked at old pictures. Many shed tears.
It was a day for teachers, staff, students, and parents -- both past and present -- to say goodbye to the Kelley Elementary School in Newburyport.
The historic neighborhood school will be closed after 134 years to save money for the school department. The last day of school is to be June 20.
"Devastating," "heartbreaking," "terrible," and "foolish" were commonly used to describe the closing. But some students, who will be moving to another elementary school or a new upper elementary school at the middle school next year, said change "could be really fun."
"It's much harder for adults than kids," said Dave Archambault, principal of the 115-student school. "The kids do have their sad moments, absolutely. But, mostly, they are excited."
The prospect of closing the Kelley -- which opened in 1873 -- has been broached periodically for decades, always to the protests of parents. Kelley PTO researchers could find only one operating elementary school older than the Newburyport school, the Cannelton Elementary School in Indiana, which is housed in a building constructed in 1868.
"I felt it was something that would happen," said Ruth Connors, who taught second grade at the school from 1972 to 1994. "But I hate to see it happen. I love this school, always did."
She is not alone.
"It's always been such a wonderful and nurturing school, just a real sense of community," said a tearful Christine Johnson, who has taught second grade for 26 years.
"It's the end of an era," said Marin Fortune, principal from 1984 to 1995. "I love this building and they don't make them anymore. It's a great learning environment because the kids have plenty of space. It's nice that students have been able to walk to school and that will be lost for a lot of kids."
Muriel Cummings, who graduated from the Kelley in 1949, said: "The kids do well here compared to bigger schools. You don't need frills to get the point across."
Byron Matthews, a 1942 graduate and mayor of Newburyport from 1968 to 1978, said: "It's a sad day. It's part of progress, but it's hard to take away a building that has meant so much to the children of Newburyport."
The building is to be turned over to the city on Sept. 1, its fate still unclear.
"I don't think it's fair," said Cora Harvey, a fourth-grader. "I'd like to come back and visit."
Other communities also are dealing with elementary school closings because of budget cuts. Swampscott's 190-student Machon Elementary School, which opened in 1883 and moved to its current location in 1920, is shutting its doors, with students moving to the town's three other elementary schools.
The Fuller Elementary School in Gloucester, built in 1964 by the Archdiocese of Boston and later purchased by Gloucester city officials, is to be closed but it is unclear when, said Superintendent Christopher Farmer.
Depending on what happens with the school budget, the 550-student school will either be half-full next year or closed, a decision that is to be made by the end of this month.
Kevin Lyons, superintendent of schools in Newburyport, said closing Kelley was "a huge part" of a structural change that will save more than $650,000 and avoid "decimating programs and raising class sizes above reasonable levels."
The city has three elementary schools, Kelley, Brown, and Bresnahan, for kindergarten through Grade 4; the middle school, for grades 5 through 8; and the high school.
Next year, with the Kelley closed, the Brown School will house prekindergarten and kindergarten, and all students in grades 1 through 3 will go to Bresnahan. Grades 4 and 5 will go to the middle school building but exist as an upper elementary school, separated from grades 6 through 8.
"It's just the way it had to be done," Archambault said. "It's sad, but it's the reality of being $1.6 million short."
Archambault, who was hired last year and split his time between the Brown and Kelley schools, said he had applied to jobs only at small neighborhood schools.
When it became clear the Kelley would be closing, he considered leaving Newburyport. "How could I not?" he said. "Everything I had come here for was basically being taken away."
Archambault said he is happily becoming principal of the upper elementary school, where he will be with students moving up from the Kelley and Brown schools.
"It was my favorite school. It's wicked cute and small," said Gwen Charot, a Newburyport High School freshman who attended the community open house with two classmates.
"It was easier to work here and get to know everyone," said Ashleigh Poussard. "I never expected it would actually close."
"We came to look at it one last time," said Annie Barrows, whose mother, Laurie, teaches at the Kelley.
Nana Kennedy, president of the Kelley School PTO, said there will be a series of events as the school year wraps up.
"We're trying to make it upbeat," she said. "We're trying to keep it positive and leave on a happy note, not just packing up boxes." 