Fisicaro: If Evans Elementary School closes, it won’t reopen

Two board of education leaders on two levels agree that closing Evans Elementary School is not the answer for the district or the community.

According to state Board of Education Vice President Joe Fisicaro Sr., once a school closes, it doesn’t reopen.

Evesham’s Superintendent of Schools John Scavelli has not indicated whether the Evans property would be sold after closure, if the recommendation comes down and is accepted by the board.

According to Fisicaro, Willingboro School District closed J.F.K. High School approximately 20 years ago, and the property has since been sold and converted into a community center, he said.

“Once you close a school, there’s no reopening it,” Fisicaro said. “It’s a huge financial undertaking and wouldn’t be possible if there is a population increase over time.”

It’s easier to close a wing in a school and consolidate classes than close a school, Fisicaro said.

The discussion of the elementary school has been on the table since 2011, stemming from budgetary concerns and a steadily declining enrollment for the last decade.

“From my experience, closing a school is not the right choice,” Fisicaro said. “I can’t make a full decision until all the facts are presented.”

Fisicaro taught in the Philadelphia School District from 1972–2005, a district in crisis that has seen massive closures and movement of students to various schools throughout the city.

The school where Fisicaro taught had a substantial drop in students over the years before its eventual closure.

“When we were there, we had 1,600 kids and enrollment kept going down until there were 400 kids in the building,” Fisicaro said. “The school was made for 1,700 kids.”

Population decline has affected Evesham. The district has lost approximately 741 students in 10 years, according to School Board President Sandy Student.

School closure mostly affects urban districts, like Newark, according to Fisicaro.

Districts rarely close schools in Southern New Jersey, Fisicaro said, with the exception of the beach community of Sea Isle City in Cape May County.

The district closed completely, Fisicaro said.

“There was only one school in the entire district, which had to close,” Fisicaro said.

Sea Isle City formerly hosted students from kindergarten through eighth grade. As enrollment declined, so did the number of grades hosted within the school.

The district sent students from fourth through eighth grades to Ocean City’s school district.

Before the ultimate closure of the school, there were 13 students between first, second and third grades, Fisicaro said.

Sea Isle City and Newark’s cases are extreme, but not off base from concern of enrollment.

Scavelli also presented Interdistrict Public School Choice Program accepting students from neighboring towns funded by the state, up to $10,000 per child, according to Student.

“It costs $13,000 to fund per student, so we would lose money there,” Student said.

The two solutions have been presented more than one time since 2011, which were voted down by the school board, Student said.

“My disappointment in the superintendent is that he only brought these two choices to the committee,” Student said. “This was discussed two or three years ago and it was turned down then.”

The committee was formed to address the enrollment issue, and is slated to meet this month, according to Scavelli.

Student is hoping the appraisal and eventual sale of two vacant, district-owned properties will assist the district’s budgetary issues.

Student has suggested selling the Maple Avenue property and moving those professionals to the closed wing of Marlton Middle School.

“We could cut professionals. Evesham Township School District employs 700 people,” Student said.

Advertisements on the school’s website and buses have not been fruitful, either, Student said.

According to Student, none of those ideas have been brought to the attention of the committee.

“We have a lot of people who have a business background on the board, so people who are in business are in tune with doing more with less,” Student said. “That is where can we take a hint from private enterprises.”

Student emphasized no recommendations or official action have been taken on the matter by the board.

“It’s not fair that it comes up in discussions with parents at soccer games and in the community. I’ve heard fix it, sell the properties, sell an admin building, fix staffing and put people in other schools,” Student said. “That’s what we should do.”