The Consolidation Advisory Committee is holding its second meeting tonight in an effort to determine the set of criteria to be used to narrow down the list of elementary school closure possibilities, which it plans to reduce to two.

“[I] want to narrow it down to what’s really feasible,” said Superintendent Peter Horoschak, who is chairing the committee. “I’m really looking to narrow it down to two schools.”

The meeting will be held in the Gorton Junior High School auditorium. It starts at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend but there will not be an opportunity for public comment at the meeting.

Two weeks ago, the committee held its first meeting, where it heard from: City Planner Mark Carruolo about airport expansion and the possibilities of developable land for residential units; Schools Business Affairs Director Leonard Flood about how much money is expected to be saved through salaries and benefits as a result of teacher and staff layoffs; and Schools Construction Coordinator Paul Jansson regarding the cost of repairs and renovations at each school being considered.

During the last meeting, it became clear that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to close at least two of the schools being considered, Lippitt and Park. Carruolo recommended that Lippitt remain open because when airport expansion occurs, it will need to accommodate students from John Wickes, which would see a dramatic population reduction as a result of losing homes to expansion. Elementary Education Director Robert Bushell made a strong case for keeping Park open because it hosts the district’s only English Language Learners Program, a program Bushell says can’t successfully be moved to another building. Following that meeting, Horoschak asked Bushell to determine closure scenarios for all six schools being considered, which will be examined by the committee at tonight’s meeting. A chart containing data for all six schools has been posted on the schools Web site, www.warwickschools.org, and can be found by clicking on “Overview of Schools Being Considered for Consolidation.” According to the chart, the K-6 enrollment as of March 1, 2009, ranges from 226 at John Greene to 354 at Sherman. Building capacity at 85 percent of the current setup ranges from 294 at Greene to 458 at Oakland Beach. Functional capacity, which eliminates itinerant rooms, ranges from 337 at Greene to 522 at Oakland Beach.

The chart also shows where students would go if their school were to be closed.

The breakdown looks like this (all numbers are approximate):
John Greene: 82 students to Sherman, 113 to Warwick Neck
Lippitt: 62 students to Park, 72 to Sherman, 75 to Oakland Beach
Oakland Beach: 83 students to Lippitt, 52 to Sherman, 144 to Warwick Neck; this scenario would also require some students to be double-bumped from Oakland Beach to Lippitt to Park
Park: 173 students to Lippitt, as well as students being double-bumped from Park to Lippitt to Oakland Beach
Sherman: 49 students to Greene, 100 to Lippitt, 111 to Oakland Beach, 144 to Warwick Neck
Warwick Neck: 85 students to Greene, 84 to Sherman, 37 to Oakland Beach

The number of additional buses needed to accommodate displaced students would be three if Oakland Beach or Sherman were closed, otherwise only two would be required. The cost for one school bus is estimated at $60,000.

A second document on the schools Web site, which can be found by clicking on the “Estimated Cost Savings” link, shows the projected savings of closing each school. A savings of $281,868 is projected for salaries and benefits across the board. Savings in avoided building maintenance costs ranges from $59,889 at Park to $117,652 at Oakland Beach. Taking into account added costs for maintaining the building once it’s closed and additional buses, the total net savings from closing one school range from $728,563 at Sherman to $779,209 at Lippitt. If the committee were to not consider Lippitt at the recommendation of Carruolo, the school that is projected to save the most money is Warwick Neck with a total net savings of $773,428.

Horoschak stressed the school department is being “financially driven” to trim costs because of declining state support and that the decision to close a school will be based on what is best educationally for students.

He said the committee expects to hold one more meeting before presenting its final recommendation to the School Committee on May 12.