Confusion reigned at a parent meeting called Tuesday night by District Superintendent of Schools Jeanette Smith-Barry, who did not give a solid answer on whether Evelyn Marcelli Elementary School would be closed within a few months.
"As superintendent in the district, that’s the top level in the district but not in Education or the government," she said early in the meeting. "I made the decision [i.e., to close the school] as superintendent after considering the factors, but I don’t make any decisions that are set in stone."
In response to a question from a parent toward the end of the meeting, however, she said, "The decision is made as far the district is concerned — that’s my jurisdiction."
While the parent was looking for a definite yes-or-no answer, Smith-Barry kept running in circles, but eventually said that she would be giving them forms to complete to begin the process of getting the students moved over to other schools.
Smith-Barry said she called the meeting to begin the discussion with parents about the school’s closing and to give her rationale behind the decision. Smith-Barry said there are numerous structural problems at Marcelli, no nurse or English as a Second Language teacher, a lack of parking, no area for recess and small classrooms that cannot "accommodate the max student enrollment."
Smith-Barry said her decision was not based on a personal agenda, or because she did not like the principal.
"The bottom line is that we have been mandated to find ways to cut costs," she said. Smith-Barry said that while there is no move to reduce the quality of instruction or cut costs to the "detriment of the students," the district cannot afford to maintain the smaller class sizes offered at Marcelli, especially when there are two other smaller schools in the area.
That is why Marcelli students will be absorbed by either the Leonard Dober, Ulla F. Muller or Jane E. Tuitt elementary schools, while the teachers will also be redistributed, she said.
Parents were vocal about their desire not to shut down the school, and said that if it is mainly a repairs or structural damage issue, they would not mind pitching in. Smith-Barry said that while there is an assessment that the department just received about the school’s maintenance, there is no dollar figure attached to it and no "current plans" to fix the school.
However, the school was built in 1919, and District Deputy Superintendent Joseph Sibilly, who was also at the meeting, said that based on similar repairs done at other schools, the costs could run at least into the $150,000 range. The problem, he said, is "finding any funding at all" to cover it.
"We’re past the point where we can just completely replace," he said. "There are just costs way above what we can continue to maintain."
The arguments did not sway the parents, and many said they would protest to keep the school open. Sen. Patrick Simeon Sprauve, who attended the meeting, was on the phone with his colleagues throughout and later came back in to say a hearing on the matter will be held on June 1.
Sprauve said the hearing was being held because it seemed that many of the parents Tuesday did not get the answer they wanted.
Many of the parents agreed with Sprauve.
"I feel that Ms. Smith-Barry came and tried to answer some of our questions, but when it came down to the details that we needed, like what are the costs, what are the financial problems we have here, and can the school be repaired, it seemed like those things really were not considered," said Dina Smith, whose granddaughter, Deborah, attends Marcelli. "I don’t think this is fair to our children."
Smith said that the school is "one of the good things" in the surrounding neighborhood, which has crime and other problems.
Dahlia Blyden, whose daughter was last year’s spelling bee champion, said what she loves most about Marcelli is that there is a "unity" among teachers, parents and students, where "everybody looks out for everybody."
Blyden said she is an alumnus of the school, and also sends her daughter there because it is a convenient distance to and from her job at the Government Employees’ Retirement System.
"I am against closing the school," she said. "I understand the decision is not made by one person and they have concerns about structural damages, operational costs, etc., but I believe that we can overcome this as a community. We can keep Marcelli School standing. I don’t agree with the decision to come here one night and say they’re closing the school. There are other avenues that can be taken."
