Live from the P.B. Ritch Hearing

Dallas-Hiram Patch editor Jon Gargis is at the central office for the on the . He's updating live on Twitter (@DallasPatch), and we're compiling those tweets here for further reading, reflecting and commenting. The updates here will be a few minutes behind the Twitter feed. You can catch up on the coverage of this school issue: ; ; and a .

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8:08 p.m. And that's a wrap for tonight's hearing. Thanks to those who followed us.

8:07 p.m. Turner: The district will be asking the board next month for a resolution to phase out the school and include it on the five-year plan. That vote is not to close the school, as it would take another vote to do so.

8:04 p.m. Superintendent Cliff Cole: Thank you for being passionate about the school.

8:02 p.m. Skelton: If the superintendent puts forward a phaseout proposal, at the minimum there will be at least one more public hearing before the vote.

7:56 p.m. Skelton: "We don't need to lose $1.5 million that would come back on us, on our houses," through higher property taxes.

7:52 p.m. Skelton also says that putting the school on the phaseout track ASAP would allow the district to maximum the amount of capital funds it'd be entitled to.

7:51 p.m. Skelton says this issue came about quickly because the deadline to put the school on the phaseout track was moved up much earlier than expected.

7:49 p.m. Chester: The process we've started regarding the phaseout will have an impact no matter the outcome.

7:48 p.m. Board members are commenting now. They appreciate those who came and those who spoke about the school.

7:46 p.m. Reese: Transition to another school is OK for a middle or high schooler, but elementary is too young to deal with it.

7:45 p.m. Reese is upset at the possibility of changing schools and putting her daughter through a transition period after she's gotten to know P.B. Ritch.

7:44 p.m. Stephanie Reese is the next speaker (again, guessing at spelling). She has one student at P.B. Ritch.

7:44 p.m. Edwards also says that P.B. Ritch students, if moved, should be moved to one school, not two.

7:43 p.m. Edwards is a parent of a P.B. Ritch student. She says the community there is one you can't get at other places.

7:42 p.m. Next speaker is Elaine Edwards.

7:41 p.m. Turner: If P.B. Ritch stays as a school, it has to stay at a small size but will have to go to sewer sooner or later.

7:40 p.m. Turner on whether the septic has to be repaired if the building is used for other purposes: The main issue is the number of people in the building.

7:39 p.m. Turner: But the septic system has been manageable for the last three years based on current enrollment.

7:37 p.m. Turner: We had septic tank issues during flooding a short time ago.

7:34 p.m. Turner: If P.B. Ritch were to be built today, I do not think we'd be able to build it with septic. "They'd require us to go to sewer."

7:33 p.m. Turner now is talking septic vs. sewer system and says the state Environmental Protection Division's restrictions on sewer lines are far greater now than they were when P.B. Ritch was built.

7:29 p.m. Warrick appreciates the board's fiscal dedication, "but I really think (the kids) have a far greater value than $5.3 million."

7:27 p.m. Chester asks Warrick the difference between a larger city school vs. a smaller facility. Warrick says that when she served in a larger school outside of Paulding, it was not possible to ask a fellow teacher about how a student was doing, as she can in P.B. Ritch.

7:26 p.m. Warrick gets applause from those in attendance after her remarks. Board member Chester to Warrick: "Thank you for your service."

7:24 p.m. She says teachers give pupils support they may not get at home "because they're our kids. We can only do that because they're a small group."

7:22 p.m. Warrick: "There's not a teacher in the building that doesn't know (my daughter's) name. She's not the only student there treated that way."

7:21 p.m. Nancy Warrick, a P.B. Ritch teacher, is the next speaker.

7:20 p.m. Green: Moving children is a "drastic mistake. Money does not make up for what these kids are going to lose."

7:19 p.m. Green agrees with previous speakers, as she says a smaller school benefits the children.

7:17 p.m. Next speaker is Ann Green, who spoke at the last hearing.

7:15 p.m. Board member Nick Chester asks Bechtler if phasing out the school would decrease the sense of community in her area. Bechtler: It'd be detrimental.

7:14 p.m. Bechtler: We could probably save more money if we put kids in a "mega elementary," but that might not be the best academic move for kids.

7:13 p.m. Bechtler is concerned that this decision may be based on enrollment projections that may not pan out.

7:10 p.m. Second parent speaker is Paula Bechtler: We felt lucky to still be at P.B. Ritch after Hutchens opened up since P.B. is much smaller.

7:07 p.m. Tersch also says that special-needs students might be negatively impacted by a larger school environment.

7:04 p.m. Tersch: More students equals more of a chance for bullying. And financials aside, "there's got to be another way to solve this."

7:03 p.m. Parent Jackie Tersch: Redistricting will make the schools that take in the P.B. Ritch students "less personable" due to having more students.

7 p.m. Skelton reiterates that no matter what the vote on the plan, the school will operate as a K-5 elementary facility in the 2011-2012 school year.

6:59 p.m. If approved, the plan will be developed to decommission the school within the district's five-year plan. If denied, the school continues to operate.

6:58 p.m. Otott: District officials will bring the phaseout proposal to the school board on April 12.

6:57 p.m. Turner: The phaseout would entitle the district to up to $5.3 million in capital outlay funds.

6:55 p.m. Otott: Ifthe  phaseout approved, P.B. Ritch could be used for educational programming, like a GED program, maybe for special ed, administrative purposes, storage for the district or for community usage.

6:53 p.m. Otott: Baggett Elementary's current enrollment stands at 587 and has a capacity of 725.

6:51 p.m. Marty Turner, the executive director of maintenance and facilities for the district, also joining the presentation.

6:50 p.m. Regardless of the outcome, the school will be open for 2011-12. But when closed, students are to be redistricted to or Bessie Baggett Elementary.

6:49 p.m. Otott: Impacted personnel would be reassigned under school board policies.

6:48 p.m. Otott: Personnel and other hard costs that could be saved by closing school = $795,672. That doesn't include the certified teachers.

6:47 p.m. Otott: P.B. Ritch needs about $4 million in renovations and modifications.

6:45 p.m. Otott: We want buildings that are conducive to learning, safe for students, utilized effectively and that maximize capital funding opportunities.

6:43 p.m. By the numbers: 327 students currently at P.B. Ritch; its FTE capacity is 575. Projections have 2011-12 enrollment at 342.

6:43 p.m. Associate Superintendent Brian Otott will give the presentation given at the last meeting. We've got it at http://patch.com/A-gj63.

6:40 p.m. Tonight's hearing likely will follow the same format as the last: presentation from the district followed by public comment.

6:39 p.m. Skelton: There will be one more meeting before the final vote is taken on the school's phaseout proposal.

6:36 p.m. Board Chairman Michael Skelton leads off the hearing, explaining the reason behind it. Speakers will have a 5 minute time limit. Board members may interact with speakers, with the time not counting against the speaker. Skelton: "We want to hear the comments" from the public.

6:32 p.m. There looks to be about two dozen people in the audience, a little less than last time.

6:30 p.m. By the way, if our tweeting of this meeting is not your thing, we just had tonight's PatchCast go live on the site: http://patch.com/A-gr9N.

6:28 p.m. We've been here a couple of minutes. Four people have signed up to speak so far. First hearing last week had a dozen address the board.