Lafayette Elementary School parent Jacqueline Robledo

Hammond school board slow walks decisions on closures

Contributed By:The 411 News

Opposition to the school administration’s implementation of Phase 2 of a district reorganization plan ruled the day at Tuesday’s meeting of the Hammond school board.

An executive session discussion of the plan wasn’t enough to convince board members when the measure was brought to the floor Tuesday night. Instead of board approval of Supt. Walter Watkins’ Strategic Plan for Fiscal Health, he will have to reveal the plan to the public before the board votes on it.

The board asked for more information on an MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding) with Edmentum to consider the district’s plan to operate a virtual or online learning program.

When Hammond’s school district saw an unexpected and sharp drop in 2018-19 student enrollments, it spurred studies of district finances and the costs of educating its students. Results from the studies showed a trend of continuing student enrollment decline for the next 7 years and a need to reduce costs.

Also, the school district, like other units of government in Lake County will see a drop in revenues in 2020 because of formulations in the property tax cap.

A remedy to downsize the district, called the “Education Specifications Visioning Study” and offering 10 scenarios of school closings and consolidations was presented at a school board meeting in December 2018. It included closing 2 of the four high schools, closing elementary schools, redrawing school attendance boundaries, new curriculums, and closing and reconfiguring of middle and high schools.

The district is constructing a new school to replace Hammond High; it will house middle and high school grades.

At that December meeting, Supt. Walter Watkins said, ““The study committee’s recommendations were suggestions only. In phase 2, we’ll start sitting down with those groups and others. We are heading in the direction of 2 high schools, but we are nowhere near that.”

Before Dr. Watkins began his phase 2 update, board member Carlotta Blake-King asked the board to table the measure. “There is so much information and details about our debt in here that includes school closings,” Blake-King said. “I think we should have this in a public work session so the public can see this report.” According to Blake-King, Columbia, Miller and Lafayette Elementary Schools were the schools that phase 2 selected for closings.

Dr. Watkins answered board member Anna Mamala’s questions on jobs and student transfers. “We’re moving students to better academic facilities. This is not about reducing staffs. I’m trying to keep everybody working, keeping teachers and their students together.”

“The financial crisis is looming before us. Delaying it will only push us closer,” Supt. Watkins said. “In this plan, we’re moving forward to save the district $25.4 million.”

Although the board received clarification from the superintendent that he was only exploring the options on school closings, they still voted to table the measure until he presented it to the public.

Lafayette parent Jacqueline Robledo told the board, “You’re trying to close down our school, an A-B graded school and send us to schools that are failing. I don’t think that’s fair. We walked the streets, knocking on doors with Lafayette staff talking about the referendum. Our school is not supposed to close until the new school is finished in 2021. Why have you not come out to our community?”

In 2017, Hammond voters approved two referendums – to increase property taxes to build a new high school and to provide more funds for district operating costs.

Lafayette, on Sibley Street near downtown Hammond, has long maintained good grades on the state’s accountability report card. Student enrollments in the predominantly black and Hispanic school also have held steady, close to 500 for the last 5 years.

Miller Elementary, in the Hessville neighborhood, houses the district’s pre-kindergarten programs.

At Columbia Elementary, near Michigan and Columbia Avenue, enrollment has seen a steady decline with its accountability grades also falling.

Theresa Mayerik, Hammond schools Assistant Superintendent said the online learning program proposal by Edmentum could help regain students who’ve left the district. “We want to partner with Edmentum to bring in our students who go out of Hammond to other districts that offer home learning. They don’t want to come to a brick and mortar school.”

Mayerik said last year Hammond lost 324 students to virtual schools.

Edmentum’s Matt Griffin told the board, “Edmentum can help carry Hammond into the future. Virtual learning is predicted to grow 13% per year through 2025.”

The public work session to hear Supt. Watkins’ plan is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, April 8 at the district’s administration building.


Theresa Mayerik at podium, Edmentum’s Matt Griffin and Tom Bukowski, and Hammond school attorney Monica Conrad

Story Posted:03/23/2019