This was our letter that we submitted to the school board in April. We later updated the motion request to read as follows. Please follow the links at the bottom of the page to read the complete document. It includes financial information and decline in enrollment that impacts our kids greatly.
Request for Motion
"For the Rochester School Board to explore an option that would close the Rochester public school in oder to offer our children school choice and then establish an independent school in Rochester."
The primary imperative for creating an independent school in Rochester is to improve the quality of education by allowing teachers to create vital new programs that enliven the curriculum. By giving the citizens of the district a new option for schooling, we believe that this will also improve enrollment. Currently there are an estimated 100 tuition students from 4 neighboring towns that attend schools other than Rochester as their school of choice even though Rochester is their closest school. The decline in enrollment at the Rochester School over the last number of years has created a situation that is not sustainable with the current structure unless changes are made.
The following Statement is from John Poljacik, Superintendent of Schools, Windsor Northwest Supervisory Union. This is taken from the Rochester annual report proposed 2012/2013 budget.
“The Bethel and Rochester School Boards continue the exploration of change with respect to what best meets the needs of the children of those communities now and in the future. This initiative is more than just a discussion of improving technology and changing the delivery of instruction within the classroom. The topics are about merging with other schools, closing our schools and offering school choice, designating other high schools, privatizing and independent schools. Such endeavors and decisions require community involvement. The input, thoughts and consideration of all citizens are crucial to both the future of education for the children and the economic picture of the community.”
The above quote illustrates the need for Rochester to change the current structure of the school. The conclusion that was drawn from the February 2012 forum was that the school budget is unsustainable and that the school or parts of the school could close. We believe that this would be a loss for the children and community.
We have the opportunity to create a new way forward and deal with the challenges that face us.
If the requested motion is adopted, it is the intent of the Rochester ISIS committee to work with the Rochester School Board to develop a transparent and inclusionary process involving all major stakeholders in our community thereby insuring the results of this investigatory process are reflective of the wishes of the community and the needs of our children. This process involves the research of academic structures and configuration, cost analysis and actions for implementation.