Plum School District to close elementary school, shift grades and cut kindergarten to half day

The Plum school board approved a plan last week to close Regency Elementary School, cut kindergarten to a half-day program and reconfigure its three remaining elementary buildings.

The vote was 7-2 at a special meeting March 20 at Oblock Junior High School. Directors Rich Zucco and Jim Rogers dissented, saying they wanted to keep full-day kindergarten.

Several parents who spoke prior to the vote agreed.

“Taking away from the groundwork of their education, cutting it in half is essentially permanently damaging their future,” Jennifer Clontz said.

There will be no lunch or recess, only educational instruction, for kindergartners in the half-day program.

Acting Superintendent Gail Yamnitzky said keeping the kindergarten program intact would have resulted in teacher furloughs in other grades.

The district will work with third-party vendors, day cares and preschools to help make the transition to the half-day format easier for families, officials said.

Pivik and Center elementaries will house kindergarten through fourth grade, and Holiday Park Elementary School will get fifth and sixth grades as part of the plan.

All the elementary schools now serve children from kindergarten through sixth grade. The junior and senior high schools will not be affected.

The proposal is projected to save the district around $1.8 million and be completed before the next school year.

“This is not allowing enough time for the proper accommodations to be prepared for and made within the buildings, as well as in the homes of the countless families that will be impacted by this earth-shattering shift,” Clontz said.

Board President Steve Schlauch said he's confident the plan, which was formed with input from educational experts, is what's best for the district.

“It's going to take time, but Plum's going to achieve greatness,” he said.

Director Sue Caldwell said after the meeting the board and administrators did their due diligence to preserve what programs they could while saving money for other necessary projects.

“This was a difficult decision,” she said. “However, if we want our kindergarten students to have a future with roofs and sewers that do not leak, and technology necessary for their education, this was the best plan. We will continue to meet all the core educational needs of our kindergarten students.”

Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-871-2367.