It's official: Suffern district to close Viola, shift grades around remaining schools
HILLBURN - Suffern's school board took the formal step Tuesday to close one of the district's five elementary schools next fall and restructure the remaining four. Two of the remaining elementary schools will serve grades pre-K through 2 and the other two will house grades 3 through 5.
The vote, 6-1, during Tuesday's Board of Education meeting came after several parents again asked the board to delay the decision.
Viola Elementary School will be officially closed for instruction as of July 1, 2024. That's when the other buildings will change their grade patterns.
Board member Tom Donnelly said before casting his "no" vote that he understood the need. But, "we're just going a little too fast."
Trustee Paul Shapiro, who supported the resolution, said that the district had considered consolidating elementary schools for at least two years. "This was not done on a whim."
After the vote, Superintendent Erik Gunderson acknowledged the plan would bring change for current elementary school kids. He also acknowledged speakers who urged the administration to focus on getting kids emotionally prepared for big changes in the 2024-2025 academic year.
"Now is the time to start working on this in earnest," Gunderson said.
The arguments for, against
Two weeks ago, hundreds showed up to Suffern High School for a public hearing on the plan. Dozens spoke, the majority against the idea. While many appeared to reconcile with losing an elementary campus, speakers criticized "grade banding," saying it would split up siblings, force kids to move schools too often and create more busing headaches.
Many also questioned why the plan had to be implemented in the next academic year.
Suffern: Board of Education nears vote on school consolidation as parents voice concerns
Gunderson has said such consolidation is needed as public-school enrollment drops because more families moving are opting to send their children to private schools, often yeshivas that serve the Orthodox Jewish community. He has said that small class sizes are educationally and socially less beneficial for children, limit extracurricular offerings and portend future fiscal strains on the district.
How it would work
According to presentations and the resolution passed by the board Tuesday:
Kindergarten through second grade will be offered at Sloatsburg Elementary School and R.P. Connor Elementary School. The district's pre-K program will be at R.P. Connor and the YMCA pre-K program will remain at Sloatsburg.
Grades 3-5 will be at the Montebello and Cherry Lane schools.
The resolution does not specify how schools would be zoned or partnered. But Gunderson has said kids will matriculate from the lower elementary grades to intermediate grades like this:
Students at Sloatsburg Elementary will move to Montebello for grades 3-5.
Youngsters at R.P. Connor will go to Cherry Lane for upper elementary grades.
What happens to Viola
Gunderson has said that Rockland BOCES is interested in leasing Viola. He said that since BOCES serves all county districts, Suffern students would benefit from the programs offered there.
East Ramapo Superintendent Clarence Ellis has said his district is dealing with growing public school enrollment and overcrowding. He recently told his Board of Education that he had discussed a possible lease agreement with a nearby district. Suffern is the only district in Rockland publicly discussing shutting a school.
Gunderson said he and Ellis had discussed space issues, but no formal conversation had taken place.
Gunderson, in discussions with the public and the Suffern school board, had repeatedly said that selling off a school building would be a mistake. A decade ago, East Ramapo sold two shuttered schools and now is considering bringing in modular classrooms and converting other space to accommodate enrollment that increases weekly.
Nancy Cutler covers People & Policy for lohud.com and the USA Today Network New York. Reach her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her on Twitter (X), Instagram and Threads at @nancyrockland.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Suffern shuts Viola Elementary school as more opt for yeshiva education
