by MAYA MCFADDEN The new haven independent
Should New Haven wait until 2025 to begin closing some of its 41 schools? Or should it speed up that consolidation process and start this year?
Local legislators on the Board of Alders Finance Committee raised those questions during a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) budget workshop.
Thursday night’s five-hour meeting on the second floor of City Hall marked the latest step in the committee’s review of Mayor Justin Elicker’s proposed $680 million general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2024 – 25 (FY25), which begins on July 1.
NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón and her team presented the final budget request of the evening. The district is looking to receive a $17 million bump in what NHPS leaders have described as a “keep the lights on” budget request. That number is $12 million higher than what Mayor Elicker has proposed for the district.
On Thursday night, alders raised concerns about the district’s budget request and pressed NHPS leaders to consider school consolidation sooner rather than later. School parents raised similar concerns about closing schools during part of this past Tuesday’s NHPS budget community forum.
Westville/Amity Alder and Board of Alders Richard Furlow raised the prospect of fewer schools when he said at Thursday’s meeting, “With the decline in student attendance, with the vacancy in staff and students, with the deterioration of buildings, this is hard to say, but it seems that we’re already at the point where schools need to close.”
He said he understands community concerns regarding school pride for buildings, but described the NHPS budget request as a difficult ask. “I just don’t see how this can be sustainable.”
“Every year we start already in the negative because every year we bring forth a proposed budget that has never been able to be granted,” Negrón replied.
Furlow asked Negrón, “What would you say to having to expedite closing schools?”
“We are going to have to get there,” Negrón conceded. But, she said, “that would be so disruptive right now.” She asked for at least one year to arrange and organize such a process with intention.
“We have been pushing to make sure that we get our kids reengaged in coming to schools, that we’re doing better as it relates to getting our kids to read,” she said. “So finally starting to build a foundation that’s gonna get us there.”
If NHPS were to close schools this year, the superintendent said, “I just don’t know how then we’re going to have any outcomes that we can speak about.”
She continued, “I urge you as a board to really give us that time that we need to be able to do that right and begin to talk about consolidation, work with our communities.”
East Rock Alder Anna Festa asked Negrón how many empty seats NHPS currently has in classrooms across the district.
Negrón did not give an exact number but responded that there are empty seats throughout the schools, while some, like Fair Haven School and Wilbur Cross, are currently at capacity because of recent large influxes of students. Negrón added that the current “right sizing” process that she is leading is moving students and staff to balance out the districts empty seats. Negrón said that so far the district has found 36 opportunities to right-size classrooms.
West Rock/West Hills Alder Honda Smith agreed with the consideration of closing some schools, and raised concerns that the right-sizing process will burn out teachers with larger classes. Smith asked if paraprofessionals could be put in those classrooms that increase in size. Negrón said the new budget does not include new para positions but does include hiring more social workers and school counselors to support students and staff struggles.
“It puts a strain on students that really want to learn,” Smith said.
Negrón concluded that she recognizes and agrees consolidation is a must because “there’s no way we are going to sustain 41 of our buildings when we already know many of them are at the end of their life.”
But, she said, she wants to do that strategically with community input and start with a phase one of spending a year right sizing, maximizing resources and dollars, and showing the outcomes that could come out of the 24 – 25 budget request.
“That’s what I see in the future. The future meaning as early as 25 – 26. All I’m asking is I need [in] this 24 – 25 as much support as I can get.”