Somerset schools vote could come by next week

WESTOVER -- Two options for restructuring Somerset County schools -- including one that would keep Crisfield High open -- are under consideration by Board of Education members who could vote as early as next week on how to proceed.
After hearing public comment this week -- much of it against consolidating poor-performing schools -- board members said they plan to review all the information before they meet again on Feb. 2.
Most of them stressed they have not yet made up their minds.
"We're in a significant bind here," said board member H. DeWayne Whittington. "We will be trying to do what's best for children."
The board has a March 14 deadline to submit a restructuring plan for Crisfield High after it failed to meet its Adequate Yearly Progress -- or AYP -- targets set by the federal government for four years in a row.
But school officials said they also are looking at Washington High in Princess Anne, which is not expected to meet AYP this year and will be forced to undergo mandatory restructuring as well.
At a meeting this week, Superintendent Marjorie Miles said officials are considering two plans: a restructuring of Crisfield High only and merging both high schools.
The second option would involve moving all students in Grades 10-12 to the four-year-old Somerset Intermediate School building in Westover.
The sixth- and seventh-graders at the school now would join the eighth- and ninth-graders at junior high schools in what are now the high school buildings in Crisfield and Princess Anne.
Under both plans, staff members would be required to reapply for positions, and some employees would be replaced.
The state is requiring that all new staff be in place by Aug. 2, Miles said.
School administrators, who helped Miles with the presentation, also outlined the costs and changes to programs and staffing, transportation, extracurricular programs, technology and parent involvement under both restructuring options.
Under the consolidation option, the school system would realize large savings in several areas.
Miles' presentation detailing both options was expected to be available to the public on the school system's website, www.somerset.k12.md.us.
Earlier in the meeting, a crowd of about 150 parents and other community members packed into the Board of Education meeting room and overflowed into the hallway.
Many of those who spoke cited the advantages of small schools, such as Crisfield High.
They also expressed concerns about teen drivers traveling 12 miles to Westover along the two-lane Route 413 twice a day, and said a merger would be hardest on students from Smith Island who already face 40-minute boat rides to and from Crisfield each day.
Others questioned whether consolidation would improve the quality of education at the high school level.
Some residents who pleaded with the board to keep Crisfield High intact said it is the heart of the city.
"Please do not make this the biggest mistake in Somerset County history," said sophomore Jesse Drewer. "Crisfield High School is part of my life and community. You don't just take that away."