BRUNSWICK

Brunswick School Board members said Wednesday they want more information before voting to expand the junior high school program to include the entire fifth grade.

Members want more detailed information on costs, including transportation, as well as future student population projections, and a clearer idea as to where programs such as art and physical education would take place for fifthgraders. The lack of action Wednesday drew the consternation of Chairwoman Michele Joyce, who said that “this board has a habit of wanting to talk things to death.”

Superintendent Paul Perzanoski said some information, such as projected student population, would be estimates at best, and couldn’t guarantee complete accuracy.

“I’m concerned with being held to these answers (by the board),” he said, “because I have been in the past.”

Board member Rich Ellis said it was “discomforting” to send 180 fifth-graders to the junior high, without the requested information. Member Christopher McCarthy said that while he was “philosophically” in favor of the notion, he needed more information before he would vote in favor.

The catalyst for moving the fifth grade to the junior high is a population bubble at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School. Opened in 2011 with the intention of educating 600 students, HBS’s population had been expected to top 700 next year.

While the population bubBY ble looks to be temporary, moving grade five to the junior high school would be permanent.

“This is not a temporary fix,” said Vice Chairman William Thompson.

Four portable building units, preferably connected to the school, would be needed in order to accommodate the fifth grade, according to Brunswick Junior High School Principal Walter Wallace.

At one point in its history, the junior high school housed about 750 students.

“It was a mad house,” said board member Corinne Perreault. “If we want to try to keep class size reasonable, we can’t go back to the way it was.”

Wallace noted that mandates have since changed, including space requirements for special education, which means the junior high could no longer support such a large student population.

This year, 490 students attend BJHS. The population in the building would be at about 650 if the fifth grade were absorbed.

According to Perzanoski, current staff would be able to “cover the needs” of fifth graders at BJHS.

The school would need to introduce an additional lunch time as well as fifth grade recess.

“I don’t want the junior high to lose what it does well, which is getting students ready for high school, by introducing an elementary school element,” said Thompson.

The junior high is in an older building with a lot of wear and tear, said Wallace; it also would need to find more parking for staff, parents and visitors, and more bike racks. More buses or longer bus routes would be needed.

Lending his support, McCarthy said that most challenges in moving the fifth grade could be overcome.

“I wouldn’t want infrastructure to get in the way of a good philosophical decision,” he said.

However, Perreault, who previously cited concerns about the costs of transportation and the lack of space for special programs such as music, noted that issues like the lack of gym space, may not be easily overcome.

Other possibilities for dealing with the population bubble included leasing a four-class room and hiring additional staff at HBS. A proposal for purchasing a $1.2 million modular building to house the second grade was dismissed by board members as too costly.

Perzanoski in February floated plans before the school board to convert the Hawthorne Building — a former school that currently houses school administrative offices — into a “choice school” with a student capacity of 138. While the board cited concerns about overhead costs, Perzanoski on Wednesday said a new Hawthorne Choice School could still be a viable option to pursue during the next budget cycle.

The district has been trying to work out the timing for a bond to pay for a new, $24 million elementary school that would replace Coffin School on the site of the now-defunct Jordan Acres School next to the junior high school. Debate over the school’s education program, among other issues, has so far delayed plans for a bond.

Joyce noted that the cost of the proposed school, which would have a smaller population if Grade 5 was moved to BJHS, may decrease.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com