Kentwood super plans to close Hamilton

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) - Kentwood Public Schools Superintendent Scott Palczewski will recommend closing Hamilton Elementary as the district looks to close a $4 to $5 million budget gap for next year.

That recommendation, along with a plan to implement what the superintendent called "pretty extensive" layoffs, are expected to be presented to the school board Monday, Palczewski told 24 Hour News 8. The superintendent said administrators have not determined the exact number of layoffs they will recommend.

Both cuts would have to be approved by the board.

"In order for our district to sustain excellence in our academic programs, we must make difficult budget decisions," Hamilton Principal Cindy Charles said in a letter sent to parents this week.

The letter notes Kentwood Public Schools has lost more than 600 students in the past four years.

The district does have a plan to "quickly reopen the building once the economy recovers and student enrollment again increases," the letter stated.

School administrators have set a meeting with parents for 7 p.m. Thursday in Hamilton's gym. Charles said in her letter that Palczewski will explain the rationale for the closure at that time. In an interview, the superintendent said he did not want to discuss the reasoning before the parent meeting.

Palczewski said he met with Hamilton school staff Monday to discuss the closure recommendation. The letter went home to parents such as Biltrese Barnes on Tuesday.

"I'm like, 'Oh no, not Hamilton,' " Barnes recalled thinking. Her daughter is in kindergarten there. "It's a school right next door to our home so it's so convenient for us. You've got a lot of parents out here and kids out here that love attending this school."

Layoffs in the district would come on top of a retirement incentive that 27 teachers have agreed to, the superintendent said.

Kentwood is one of many West Michigan districts facing a multimillion dollar budget gap for 2009-10. The board of Wyoming Public Schools voted to close two schools for next year as a part of cost-cutting measures in that district .