From 5 buildings to 3: River View schools' reconfiguration deemed a win-win for all

WARSAW − River View Local Schools is more centralized than it was last school year and, while there are challenges to reconfiguration, district officials believe it will be a better outcome for students in the long run.

The district began considering closing buildings and realigning students halfway through the 2021 school year. In March 2022, the board of education voted to go from five buildings to three with an elementary, intermediate and high school. Seeking construction of a new elementary building was on the table, but the board decided to refrain from that for now. The idea and possible funding will be revisited in the future.

Keene and Conesville elementary schools were closed in the spring and those properties will be sold, along with a property the district has in Roscoe Village. Preschool to second grade is in the former Warsaw Elementary, now River View Elementary. Third to sixth grades is in the old junior high, now River View Intermediate. The high school building has seventh to 12h grades.

River View has a student body of approximately 1,600 with 260 staff members and a budget around $19.5 million. It's one of the largest districts in Ohio size wise with 1,285 bus stops.

Superintendent Chuck Rinkes has long said the move was because of the age of the buildings and shrinking enrollment. The last graduating class was the smallest ever for River View at 136 students and the incoming first grade class is the first ever to have less than 100 students.

He views the reconfiguration as an all-around winning strategy that will improve education and opportunities. As an example, music and art were cut several years ago due to funding. Programs have been added back and staff hired because of the centralization.

"You're losing your neighborhood school and everybody feels bad about that. But, at the same time, we're able to do some things in this configuration we weren't able to do when we were spread throughout the entire district," Rinkes said. "We know having all of our third to sixth grade teachers in the same building with that collaboration time, we're going to see a bump in our academics."

Transportation

Rinkes said one bus driver retired and her route was absorbed into others. For the school year, the district will have 18 double loop routes and 20 buses on the road with some transfers. About a third of drivers have the same route as last year.

Rinkes said the drivers were instrumental in helping to figure out the new routes and eliminating Keene and Conesville did allow for efficiency changes. As an example, Bus 19 used to do a Conesville route with 12 to 19 students. Now, the driver has a new route and is able to include a few additional stops on the old route and transport about 60 students.

Food service

Rinkes pointed out that 80% of all kitchen equipment in all buildings are no more than 2 years old. The other 20% will be replaced over the next two years.

He also said the quality of the food and efficiency of distribution has increased by going from five to three kitchens.

"When you combine great food at the best quality with materials and equipment that's going to last longer, you can't ask for more than that," Rinkes said.

Extra curricular activities

Rinkes said not much will change regarding sports and afterschool clubs.

Junior high sporting events and practices will continue to use the gymnasium at the intermediate school. Seventh and eighth grade students will have the opportunity to join some high school clubs or form their own versions, like the chess club.

Older students can easily go to the intermediate school across the parking lot and serve as mentors to the third- to sixth-graders. Those students can also come to the high school for some activities, like pep rallies.

"We've done that a few times where we've brought everybody in from the different elementaries. But, now, we can do that a lot more often by having everyone more centralized," Rinkes said.

River View Intermediate School

The former junior high had the most alterations as it was turned into an intermediate school. This included creating a new bus loop; converting some spaces to classrooms or other needed areas, like a sensory room and teachers' work room; enclosing the open air library; and installing a full-service kitchen. Previously, food was cooked at the high school and transported to the junior high, where it was kept in warmers before serving.

A playground is still being installed and should be done before the end of October. Some equipment from Keene and Conesville schools will be added to new pieces.

Principal Jarred Renner, who was at Conesville last year, said committees were formed to figure out best practices because new people were working together and everyone had a different way of doing things.

"Even with our buildings being only miles apart, there's different cultures in those buildings of how the teachers work together, how the secretary runs the building and different things. It was bringing those together and things like how do you take attendance in the morning, how do you do lunch count, how do you get mail to the teachers. We had to build that plan," Renner said.

Shelly Webb, third grade language arts and social studies teacher, and Desiree Moore, a reading specialist for third and fourth grades, were at Warsaw Elementary last school year. Both said the move was smoother than they expected. They also appreciated the extra time before students started (last week) to get organized and adjusted.

"I'm excited for the change. While I'll miss the people I used to teach with, it's kind of neat to all come together. All of our third grades will be here in one building so all the third grade teachers can sit down at the same time and discuss things. Before, we had to do it before school or find minutes to do that," Webb said. "We're all new to the building and we're all getting to know each other. It's all been really positive."

"The district's done a good job organizing everything," Moore added. "I think we have an opportunity here to create a positive culture from the get-go."

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: River View schools' reconfiguration of buildings deemed a win for all