The Alpine Union School District Board of Trustees voted 4-1 March 19 in a special board meeting to permanently shutter the doors of Alpine Elementary School at the close of the current school year on June 13.
The school currently serves 165 students in grades 1-5; those students would potentially transfer to Boulder Oaks Elementary School beginning with the 2019-20 school year.
“There’s an approximate cost savings in year one. Some of that is through employees, some of that is utility savings, and then some of it would be in arbitrage based on losing some of the Title I funds for the school, although Title I funds for the kids always still transfer,” said board member Travis Lyon.
Superintendent Rich Newman said the district would save $232,836.32 in the 2019-20 school year.
Board member Eric Wray said that the district currently could not continue operating the way it has been.
“I’ve been telling community members over the past week that the way I see this going is that Alpine Elementary or some campus has to close because we cannot afford all the programs, taking care of our kids and taking care of our staff. There’s only a certain amount of money in the pie. We have to keep adjusting accordingly,” he said.
Wray and Lyon repeatedly justified the closure by saying a consolidated pool of funds could be more effectively distributed for future programming if dedicated to one student population.
The decision to close Alpine Elementary was one of several proposed school site reconfigurations that would have potentially affected all the district. Parents, teachers, and community members were invited to provide input on site options over the past year; last night saw the Board of Trustees deliver the final vote to close AES.
Board member Joe Perricone emphasized that AES, built in 1952, has intangible value in addition to serving as an educational facility.
“I’ve talked to the business community and the community at large and if we close that school, we’re going to be admitting that the best days are past,” Perricone said.
Board members Eric Wray, Travis Lyon, Al Guerra and Glenn Dickie voted in favor of closing the school while Joseph Perricone voted in opposition.
Alpine Elementary school principal Travis Wall would not comment for this story.
