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Under the current structure, elementary school students attend three different schools in the district and five schools by the time they progress through high school, attending Daniel Boone for kindergarten and first grade; Warrior Ridge for second and third grades; and Rebecca Boone for fourth and fifth grades.
"I would still like us to pursue the option of a kindergarten through fifth-grade system, but believe we need a more complete strategy and concrete ideas before moving ahead," said Dale Schowe, school board president. Schowe said he sees no feasible way to have a well planned restructured program up and running by the 2010-11 school year.
He said the next step in the reorganization study process will be the creation of a committee to assess all angles of the issue, from community concerns and costs to specific ideas on how a proposed reorganization might be effectively carried out to address the needs and concerns of the community, including school boundaries and student populations within each school.
The board hopes to have a committee of staff, teachers, parents and other community members in place in early 2010.
"With the economic situation as it currently stands, now just doesn't seem like the time to undertake a change like this," said board secretary Janet Sutherland.
Sutherland did note that most elementary schools in the state are in fact K-five or K-six, and that only 20 schools in the entire state follow Warrenton's current model. She said ideally a reorganization would be timed with a resurgence of growth in the county.
"The money and the support of the community has to be there to do it right," said board vice president Teresa Scott.
The board has cited logistical, academic and social development benefits of a reorganization that allows students to remain in a school longer without transitioning every two years.
The new setup also would simplify transportation and other logistics for parents who now have to travel between the different schools for drop-off and pick-up and school events and activities. School officials also have said that creating a K-five school may lead to better test scores.
At the same time, some parents have voiced concerns over bus routes, cost and having kindergartners in such close proximity with older students.
"I want to thank the community and all who have expressed their viewpoints on this issue and let them know we have listened," said Schowe.
"A lot of people thought we had already made up our minds to do this," he said. "But we want to do what is in the best interest of the community, and the in-depth committee study we are recommending will achieve this goal."
