New Hartford schools deal with declining population

Oct 23, 2007 @ 06:03 PM

By CHINKI SINHA

Observer-Dispatch

NEW HARTFORD - Faced with the reality of declining enrollment over the years, the New Hartford School District is looking at staff cuts through attrition as a way to keep programs running. 

School Superintendent Daniel Gilligan called it right-sizing, implying adjusting and adapting to enrollment statistics for the school district. Last year, they cut five staff positions. Next year again they are looking to reduce positions, Superintendent Daniel Gilligan said. 

The school district lost 185 students over a 10-year period, according to district's figures. That also translates into less operating state aid, which is based on pupil count. 

“If enrollment kept going down, we would not lose out on state aid for building projects and stuff,” he said. “But we would lose out on operating state aid.” 

Operating state aid is based on pupil count, arrived at using a formula that multiplies the number of students with the dollar amount. That helps maintain various programs at the school, Gilligan said. 

All across Central New York, population decline is a known fact. This has affected most school districts in the region, one exception being Utica. Projected enrollment for all grade levels could be around 9,728 in 2016-17, Utica officials said. In 2006-07, the enrollment stands at 9,389. 

The declining enrollment is indicative of the declining population rate, officials said. 

“People are leaving. We are like a bleeding wound,” Gilligan said. “Our best go away.”
Other schools 

One of the school districts facing a crunch is the Clinton School District, which saw its enrollment figures drop down by around 400 students over the last decade. 

For 2007-08, Clinton School District's enrollment stands at 1,460. In 1997-98, it was 1,848, according to Superintendent Jeffrey H. Roudebush. 

That also meant huge cuts. While just five years ago, they had 133 teachers, now they have 114, he said. 

“We have been reducing staff,” Roudebush said. “Clinton was hurt. Money was tight.” 

Declining enrollment also means the school has to spread its resources more thinly. 
They could afford to introduce Mandarin language lessons this year because it already was funded. However, the scope of partnering with New Hartford over introducing Mandarin to high school students had to be shelved because there was no money. 

“We will have to reduce programs,” he said. “We will have to look at everything.”
The future does not look great either, he said. 

Based on the school's projections, the enrollment will go down further, he said. 

“There is no guaranteed solution,” Roudebush said. “Well, eventually it will affect the quality of education. It hasn't so far. You have to worry.” 

Though the Whitesboro Central School District saw similar declines in their enrollment in the last decade, the officials are hoping that trend would soon reverse. 

“It seems we have a lot of buildings going up here,” Superintendent Kaye said. “That would reverse the trend. I am hopeful.” 

Balancing act
While several districts in the region were forced to cut staff and reduce course offerings on account of a shrinking budget, Gilligan said they have not reached that point yet because of the commercial development in the region, which has broadened the tax base and spread the tax impact. 

So, the school officials adjust programs, review staff requirements and have been able to add new programs and sustain others as well, he said. 

In fact, the school district added two foreign language courses - Spanish at the elementary level and Chinese-Mandarin at the high school level. 

The school wanted to introduce more foreign languages but has limited itself to two for now keeping budget and other factors in perspective, he said. 

“You can't be everything,” he said. 

The school is now going ahead with a $25.7 million capital project that voters approved earlier this year. Next year work will start on the auditorium and athletic field, while the classrooms are part of the second phase, which will take off in 2009. 

Resident's concerns
Some residents feel the school district has been extravagant with regards to the capital project given the declining enrollment. 

Resident Ed Wiatr said he is worried about the school district's priorities. 

“We need to look at the student enrollment and that's a key issue,” resident Ed Wiatr said. “The school board needs to rethink their priorities as it relates to the capital project. Academics come first, Athletics comes last. The capital project … it still is extravagant. 

For Gilligan, the project was a much-needed upgrade long due. 

He is hopeful in the future more people will move to New Hartford for a high quality of education. 

One couple who relocated was Dawn and Tony Hamlin from Pennsylvania. Their reason was their daughter Katie's education. Katie joined Hughes Elementary School in May as a second-grader. 

“The school district is so phenomenal,” she said. “They are doing a lot of reading.”

NEW HARTFORD ENROLLMENT

1997-98 Elementary: 1391 Junior High: 729 Senior High School: 722  2007-08 Elementary: 1366 Junior High: 628 Senior High: 663  District Totals 1997-98: 2842 2007-08: 2657  Percentage decline - about 6.5 percent over a ten-year period  Source: New Hartford School District figures