Major changes are in store for students and families in the Glenville-Emmons school district.

Friday, February 22, 2002

Major changes are in store for students and families in the Glenville-Emmons school district. At its Tuesday night meeting, the school board voted to restructure the elementary schools and institute an all-day, every-day kindergarten program.

The reorganization creates a K-3 elementary school in Glenville, and a fourth through eighth grade elementary and junior high school in Emmons. The district’s high school will remain as in Glenville.

As part of the reorganization, the district will be cutting two staff positions – one at the elementary level and one in music. In staffing cuts unrelated to the reorganization, two additional staff positions are also being cut at the high school.

According to Superintendent Todd Chessmore, the main focus of the whole process is to build a better school district.

&uot;We’re making cuts, but we’re also looking to make our curriculum the best in the area,&uot; he said. &uot;I think this will be a positive experience for students.&uot;

One benefit that school officials see is that that they will be able to keep all class sizes smaller. With the reorganization classes in all elementary grades will have 24 students or fewer. With more than 23 students expected for kindergarten next year, the all-day, every-day program will have two sections.

Most of the concerns expressed before and during the meeting were about transportation, with some families at the extreme western and eastern ends of the district worried about the length of time their children would be riding on a bus, said Chessmore.

Transportation is a legitimate concern, said Chessmore. He said the district will be looking at restructuring bus routes to minimize the length of time students will have to be on a bus each day.

The reorganization was part of a plan that was originally supposed to take place over three years, but the board decided to accelerate the process and make all the rest of the changes in the second year. The first year involved the reduction of administrative staff positions.

The reorganized elementary schools and the all-day, every-day kindergarten program will be in place by fall.