By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.

– A reconfiguration of the district is being considered, less than four years after the last.

Under the newest proposal, Harvey Swanson Elementary School complex would be shuttered, joining Belle Ann Elementary as buildings no longer used by the district.

A community forum to discuss the proposal is planned for 6 p.m., Jan. 25, at ITEC, 609 S. Ortonville Road.

“The model we are proposing is ideal for us, we see this as a long-term solution, we have room to grow or we could decline in enrollment and it still works well for us,” said Superintendent Matt Outlaw.

HT Burt, which is adjacent to Harvey Swanson and has been largely vacant since Oakwood Elementary opened, would see its final demise as the suggested reconfiguration, discussed at the board’s Jan. 16 meeting, would mean the end of the Brandon Academy of Arts and Science, which is currently housed there.

Brandon High School, which houses ninth through twelfth grades, would remain unchanged. Brandon Middle School would welcome sixth graders to join the seventh and eighth grades already at the building. Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School would drop intermediate from its name, hosting preschool through fifth grades, and joining Oakwood as an elementary.

The board is considering implementation of this plan to begin in June, following the end of the current school year, with grades moved in time for the beginning of the 2017-18 school year this September.

The plan would net a projected annual savings of between $800,000 to $1.2 million, mostly through staffing cuts, including four teachers, an elementary principal, clerical positions, custodians, and parapros. The district would also have savings from cost avoidance, including replacing of the Harvey Swanson roof and parking lot. Harvey Swanson, built in the 1940s, is the oldest of the district buildings by more than three decades. The next oldest is Fletcher, which recently had a new wastewater treatment system installed.

The newest building is Oakwood, thanks to voters passing a $73 million bond in 2006, part of which was used to purchase land and for construction of the elementary. But the bond passage came when the district had its highest number of students. When the housing market crashed that same year, enrollment began a precipitous fall, spelling financial disaster for the district which relies, like all public school districts, on per pupil state funding for the majority of revenue.

The student losses have not stopped, with the district losing between 100-200 students per year for most of the last decade. The losses are expected to continue at 100 to 150 students per year for the next four years, equating to revenue loss of at least $1 million per year. Additionally, the district is facing a DEQ mandate to replace the wastewater treatment plant that serves the high school and middle school by November 2019. Last August, voters defeated a sinking fund tax levy, a proposed 2-mills for 2 years that would have raised about $2.2 million for the district to install a new wastewater treatment plant, as well as provide a new roof and dehumidification system for the aquatic center, and restroom renovations needed at the intermediate school and high school.

All of these financial challenges necessitated a “bold move,” said Outlaw. He adds that the district is currently at only 50 percent capacity for all of its currently used buildings, leaving plenty of room and class sizes will remain the same.

“We can grow by 1,100 students in the proposed model and still have plenty of space,” he said. “This model is good for the long haul.”

The district has a reconfiguration in the recent past.

In June 2013, the district closed Belle Ann Elementary. The future of that building is still unknown, but the board will hear a presentation at their February meeting from Plante & Moran’s real estate division that deals in selling school properties.

What the future of the Harvey Swanson complex will be is undecided as well, although Outlaw has received estimates that value the property up to $1.2 million.

The community forum, at which the public is invited to bring their questions for Outlaw and the board to answer, will help the board decide whether to implement a reconfiguration this year, next year, or not at all.

“We are doing this so we can be as transparent as possible about the details and answer questions from community members,” said Outlaw. “My preference would be to implement the reconfiguration in 2017-18. Number one, we can do it, and if it is inevitable, we would rather get the savings now to help us turn the corner, get through the tough financial time and wastewater treatment situation we’re in. It’s a good move with strong academic benefits, keeping students in respective buildings longer, and this new model serves families better.”