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Closure of Pierson up for BOE Debate

On Monday, March 26, an important meeting will discuss the future of the school system facilities, including the possibility of closing the Abraham Pierson School.

The public are welcome to attend the meeting of the Board of Education’s Budget and Finance, and Building and Grounds Subcommittees at the Morgan School, 27 Killingworth Turnpike, Clinton, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Superintendent of Schools Maryann O’Donnell said the meeting will include “an initial overview of the current facilities, a discussion of programming needs, a review of the projected enrollment trends, and an outline of process and timeline for review and decision-making.”

With a decrease of 40 students in Clinton schools next school year, the potential closing of the Abraham Pierson school, which serves grades four and five, has been the subject of discussion over the past few years.

“We will be sharing the information on the process at the meeting, but we plan to do the work between now and the fall with the ability to make a recommendation to the Board of Ed(ucation) in October. There is a lot of planning that must go into closing a school, so we need to do the research, make a proposal, and then plan out a timeline for any decision that is made.”

During a recent Board of Finance meeting, the possibility of closing Pierson was again raised, as a way to save money on future budgets.

“It is fair to say that the closing of Pierson school will be carefully considered. If a school needs to close, then Pierson is the likely candidate due to its age and current enrollment and grade configuration,” O’Donnell said.

In the November 2017, the Superintendent told the Harbor News in regards to closing the Pierson School: “In the next three to five years, perhaps it’s a conversation we’ll need to have.”

O’Donnell said a subcommittee will be formed for the review and the study may take several months to complete.

“The purpose of the subcommittee meeting is to begin a review of the school facilities and programming needs for the future and to share a potential process and timeline for evaluating school facility needs.”