Article discusses need to close one or more of the Arcadia schools in 1981. A committee has been appointed to study the matter. Likely candidates for closure are Bonita Park, Santa Anita and Holly Avenue elementary schools. The vacated property might be used as a senior citizen center.
Article reviews second public hearing on the possible closure of two elementary schools. The Board of Education hopes to make a final decision by their second meeting in January.
At the Board of Education meeting there was some discussion of the Space Utilization Committee's recommendation to close two elementary schools, Bonita Park and Baldwin Stocker. Robert Kladifke, a member of the committee, objected to closing the newest and most educationally modern school in the district, Baldwin Stocker. Two public hearings are scheduled.
The Board of Education has added four new members to the Long-Range Space Utilization Committee. The additions provide for representation by a parent from every elementary school in the district.
The Board will decide May 11 which two of four elementary schools to close next fall. Bonita Park is the most likely candidate for closure. Comments pro and con on the four schools under consideration (Santa Anita, Holly Ave., Bonita Park and Baldwin Park) are given.
The first public hearing on the closure of two public schools was held December 10. Most of the speakers urged the Board to look for other alternatives to closure. The savings isn't enough to justify the move. The Space Utilization Committee did not explore alternatives to closure.
It appears likely that one Arcadia elementary school will be closed in September, 1981, due to decreasing enrollment. A committee has been appointed to consider the matter.
Members of the school district Long Range Space Utilization Task Force have been visiting all the elementary schools in the district to gain an overview of all the facilities before they recommend which should be closed.
Petitions are being circulated that are aimed at thwarting the possible closure of two elementary schools. The savings would amount to only .7% of an $18 million school budget - not enough to justify closing the schools, according to the parents of students at Bonita Park and Baldwin Stocker.
A proposal by School Board member Pete May would delay the closing of any elementary school for at least a year. May proposed the district sell two residential parcels which should bring in around $250,000.
The School Board has approved two five-year leases for Bonita Park and Santa Anita schools to the Creative Academy of Learning and the Arcadia Christian school respectively. The leases will bring in $130,000 during the 1981-82 school year.
The Space Utilization Committee will probably recommend the closure of two schools. Consensus was that one of the two should be Bonita Park, the smallest elementary school in the district. Committee members are still studying which other school to pair with Bonita Park.
There was a large crowd of parents at the school board meeting where the closure of two elementary schools was discussed. The board will make its final decision after the public hearings have been held on December 10 and January 8.
Two elementary schools, Bonita Park and Baldwin Stocker, have been recommended for closure by the Space Utilization Committee. The Board of Education will analyze the recommendations and schedule public hearings before making a decision.