Superintendent Sets Nov. 1 Deadline for School Closing Plans Amid Enrollment Decline-September 14, 1978

Setting a brisk timeline to address shifting demographic pressures, newly appointed Superintendent Louis J. Taris established a November 1 deadline last night for presenting comprehensive contingency plans regarding the closure of at least one public school for the 1979–1980 academic year.

Contingency Options and School Committee Debate

Responding to a request from committee member Thomas DiFrancia, Superintendent Taris emphasized that the administrative report will be delivered directly to both the school committee and the special town meeting committee studying long-range school housing needs. Taris explained that moving the deadline up from December 1 ensures both bodies have ample time to review the administration’s proposals—which will evaluate the feasibility, redistricting boundaries, projected class sizes, and bus route impacts of closing one school, two schools, or one school plus part of another.

During the debate, member Charles Saraca urged administrators to ensure that any shuttered space reflects genuine consolidation rather than cosmetic shuffling, stating, “I don’t want empty seats or any camouflage of empty rooms by using them for special art or music programs.” Meanwhile, member William F. Egan proposed opening discussions with Polaroid Corp. to explore whether the company would be interested in acquiring the Oldham School, which abuts Polaroid property. Although Egan argued that anticipating the future of vacant school buildings is vital, his motion failed to secure a second as colleagues deemed it premature.

In other personnel and operational matters, the board reversed course following an executive session and voted to grant a three-day leave request for teacher Paul Vital to serve on a state certification team, retracting Taris’s initial refusal which cited tight budgetary constraints and a $75 substitute cost. Additionally, the committee agreed to review mandatory time clocks for school custodians during ongoing contract talks, following Saraca’s criticism that requiring only custodians—among 600 school employees—to punch time cards constituted unnecessary workplace harassment.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger