The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
CONTINUED DISCUSSION
’Parents Against Rebanding of Oneida City Schools’ founder meets with superintendent
The founder of a local group opposed to the repurposing of North Broad Elementary School met with Oneida City School District Matthew Carpenter on Feb. 1.
They discussed their goals even as the group continues to collect signatures and present them to the state education department in hopes of obtaining a stay on their decision, according to group organizers.
The group “Parents Against Rebanding of Oneida City Schools” will direct the petition to New York State Education Commissioner Dr. Betty A. Rosa and will ask her to grant a stay against the Oneida City School District’s decision on the school. The parents hope she can review the issue and enforce an alternative plan.
A stay, if approved by the state, would allow Rosa to review the board’s actions and determine if she should override the vote. The group has also provided letters that will be sent to Carpenter and the board to present their case and possibly change their minds.
The group collected 123 signatures as of Thursday evening. They are hoping to present Rosa with 300 signatures. The due date is Feb. 8, 30 days from when the board made its decision.
The parents’ group founder, Cynthia O’toole, has given other concerned parents to knock on doors and increase the total. Those volunteers will present the petitions to other parents throughout the district.
The petitions ask whether a parent agrees with the decision to repurpose North Broad Street, whether they agree to reband the district’s three remaining schools, Willard Prior, Seneca Street, and Durhamville, whether the board was transparent in their reasoning and decision, and whether they will add their name to the petition.
“The meeting between Mr. Carpenter and myself was very informative,” O’toole said. “He brought to light funding changes due to Gov. (Kathy) Hochul’s plan that brings cuts to Educational Systems across rural areas.
Carpenter said the district will lose $1,657,231 in state funding. “He said he has been meeting with members in Albany to see this figure be brought down more, as you can see that is a high dollar amount for our small city of Oneida,” O’toole said.
Carpenter also said he has been working with others about transportation because of the time limits that the children are on the bus. “He wanted it under 40 minutes or less, which is a great idea,” O’toole said.
O’toole also said she and Carpenter discussed student performance throughout the district.
“In the meeting, we discussed graduation rates that need to increase, as well as testing results,” she said. “However, I feel the testing being used as a standardized tool to see how our children are learning is a disaster, but that is my opinion, and mine alone.”
Carpenter had not responded to a request for comment by press time.
“I had urged him to speak with the board to put a stay on this rebanding and for more research to be done. I advised this is not what the majority of our community wants,” O’toole said. “I have parents coming to me with tears in their eyes because they don’t know what they are going to do with their kids regarding transportation, what happens if an emergency comes about and they have no way of getting to another school that is in another county.”
“Some parents moved to a certain area for the school and because it was closer for their kids to walk when they are of age. I have parents who are scared about their jobs because they have to wait for different buses,” she continued.
The board took four different votes on Jan. 9. They were as follows:
• determination to repurpose a district elementary school — unanimous 7-0 in favor.— timeline for restructuring of elementary schools 2024 School Year — unanimous 7-0 in favor.— model of elementary restructuring, grade banding — unanimous 7-0 in favor.— designation of building to repurpose North Broad — 5-2 In favor.
The district’s three remaining elementary schools are Willard Prior, Seneca Street, and Durhamville. These schools will operate in a “grade banded” model, meaning all students in a grade level will attend school in the same building rather than being spread throughout the district.
One school will host students in grades kindergarten and first; the second one for grades two and three and the third school for grades four and five.
The board of education engaged in a year-long facilities and grade organization study. During the 20222023 school year, they hired an independent consultant to conduct a facilities and grade organization study. A school-community advisory committee was formed consisting of approximately thirty members representing various stakeholder groups: parents, community members, staff, and administration.
Officials noted how the study happened because Oneida, like many districts across New York state, has experienced a significant decline in student enrollment. It is projected that future enrollment for the district will continue to decline, although at a slower rate than has occurred over the past 10 years. Since the 2012-13 school year, K-12 student enrollment has decreased by 572 students, 2,211 to 1,639 or 26%.
O’toole said she had researched the effect of transition between schools on elementary-age children and presented what she considers relevant to her case:
• although grade level configuration and grade span have little to no impact on student achievement, the number of transitions between schools negatively impacts student learning; Dove, Hooper, & Pearson, 2010.
• there is a significant achievement loss in the year following a transition; Alspaugh, 2008.
• the longer students stay in one school, the more relationships they form with teachers and other adults; Rimm-kaufman & Sandilos, 2015.
• transitions can be challenging for students. When splitting up the schools, students are forced to “learn a whole new set of rules over, a whole new set of routines, a whole new set of procedures… this in turn creates an obstacle for student learning.”: Hanover, 2018.
“I also stated to him that a number of districts around the state have tried the Princeton Plan of rebanding and it was a failure and they opted to return to their normal K-5 module,” O’toole said. “I, however, do not feel that the Board will change their minds about putting this decision on a halt, and their minds have been made up.”
“Community members have emailed them with their worries, reliable statistics, asking for this to be stopped,” she continued. “Most of the community understands that the school will unfortunately have to close, but they just don’t agree with the idea of rebanding.”