Wrentham Elementary Schools To Notify Families Affected By Possible Bus Cuts

The Wrentham Elementary School Committee on Thursday night directed Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden to notify families that would be affected by a proposed six-bus cut by the district.

Marsden said approximately 420 children would be affected by the cut, as they live within a two-mile radius from the schools. The district is required by the state to transport student who live outside that distance.

The possibility of cutting the buses is one of three scenarios facing the committee should the June 4 debt-exclusion vote fail. Marsden updated the committee on the effects of the scenarios.

"Scenario one would affect busing and four teachers," he said. "It would eliminate instrumental music, health and library positions."

Marsden said the instrumental music program did its job well, and feeds into King Philip's award-winning music program, but cutting it would affect only 170 students.

The school would also lose its membership in the SAILS library program as a result of the cuts.

"The class sizes would remain the same, and this is the only scenario where that happens," Marsden said.

Scenario two, Marsden said, eliminates 7.5 teaching positions. It would remove art, music, health and instrumental music from the schools, and would eliminate two classroom teachers.

"The class sizes would increase in grade four to 26," he said.

Marsden added that instruction time would be negatively affected, as the district is contractually obligated to provide teachers with prep time.

The third scenario, he said, would eliminate 8.5 teachers, removing a teacher from every grade level except fifth grade.

"This really impacts classroom size," he said. "Sizes would increase to 24 or 28 in many grade levels."

Marsden said this scenario would preserve art and music instruction at the expense of day-to-day classroom teaching.

"Essentially, we're abandoning our mission here," he said. "Our kids would lose support again."

Committee Chairman Edward Goddard said the option of cutting buses was not a good one, but appeared to be the best of the scenarios.

"I think we have an obligation to let the affected parents know sooner rather than later," he said. "We have a lot of double-job parents who are going to have to figure out what to do over the summer."

Committee member Michelle Rouse agreed.

"I just look at this as: the less impact we have on teachers, the better scenario," she said.

Marsden said he would craft a letter informing the affected families.