Daytona school one step away from shut-down

January 12, 2010

The local school governing board took its next-to-last step Monday night in its process of deciding whether or not to close Daytona Middle School next fall.

The Lake Havasu Unified School District governing board listened to student, teacher, and parent comments during a public meeting regarding the possibility.

“Your presence here shows you care about public education and that’s what our students need,” said LHUSD Superintendent Gail Malay as she opened the meeting to a packed boardroom. “Education has become a very complex business.”

Now the only step left in the closing process is the governing board casting its official vote on whether or not to close its one of two middle schools. The earliest that vote could come at the Feb. 16 regular board meeting.

“I understand the Daytona closure, 100 percent,” said local parent Sherri Mitchell during the meeting. “We have to pay (for our children’s education). It’s just the way that it goes.” Mitchell was one of about 12 speakers Monday night.

The board announced in early December that it would have to cut about $1.7 million from next year’s budget. An estimated $1.2 million of that is from the failure of voters in November 2009 to extend property taxes passed several years ago; the remaining is due to an expected decrease in state funding due to a projected decline in student enrollment, school officials said.

The school district is holding another meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the district office at 2200 Havasupai Blvd. to discuss its current financial conditions.

Malay said a conversation about if — or when — the district might try for another property tax extension would “come up.”

<p&g t;A presentation made during the beginning of Monday night’s meeting stated that closing Daytona Middle School — which has fewer students than Thunderbolt Middle School — would save the district more money than if they were to consider closing an elementary school.

The majority of the expected $785,691 savings is from administrative and support staff payroll. Daytona teachers are expected to keep positions at other schools next year.

In addition to the possible school closure, the board has cut eight teaching positions district-wide next year. Malay outlined in her presentation that an additional 17 teaching positions would have to be cut to reach the same savings as the school closure.

If the board does decide to close Daytona Middle School, this year’s fifth-graders will remain at their elementary schools next year for sixth grade and Daytona’s seventh and eighth-graders will head to Thunderbolt. School transportation will be provided to all students living at least one mile away from Thunderbolt.