For many Enfield parents, a proposal to shut down Nathan Hale Elementary School for the 2017-2018 school year is a nonstarter.
On Wednesday night the board of education heard an earful from several people in attendance who said there must be another way to save money.
In June, the Board of Education asked the superintendent to look for ways to cut costs and the superintendent proposed closing Hale Elementary during a board of education meeting in October.
All 232 students in the kindergarten through second-grade school would move to three other schools.
Officials from the board of education said it would save them about $250,000 in duplicate staff, like principals and front office staff. The town could save money too. It costs Enfield $350,000 to $400,000 to operate the facility.
"It's not on the table because we want to do this," Board of Education member Timothy Neville said. "People say we should find it somewhere else. We would love to. Someplace else doesn't exist."
Board members place the blame for their current financial predicament straight on the shoulders of the state and say the state's continuous cuts to education led them here and it's not expected to get any better.
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One issue Enfield will have to deal with is that there is currently an $810,000 bond on Nathan Hale Elementary School. They have eight years to pay it off, but if the building is not used for educational purposes, they're supposed to pay it off in one lump sum.
"I think as soon as a decision is made and something is concrete, we would write a letter to the state and petition the state to allow us to continue to pay the $100,000 a year instead of the $800,000 up front," Supt. Dr. Jeffrey Schumann said.
If the school is to close, the superintendent recommended the board of education make a decision by Tuesday, Nov. 22 because planning for consolidation takes time.
Many at Wednesday night's meeting, including some board of education members, think the entire process is moving too fast.
