The end of an era at Union Sanborn School

NORTHFIELD — The welcome sign crowning the entrance to Union Sanborn School reads, “In our Bear Cub community, we model kindness, safety and learning for all. Do your best, be your best, celebrate YOU!”

It’s a mission that many, including school bus driver Eric Kelso, take to heart – one that will survive beyond these walls when the 100-year-old elementary school closes its doors in June.

“If they’re going to do that, they should turn it into a rec center for kids,” said Kelso, who has ferried students in the Winnisquam Regional School District for the past eight years. “Franklin has a rec center. I wish the town would take it over and turn it into a nice, beautiful place for children to do things, including during the summer. If enough people get together, maybe they can turn it into something before it become offices for lawyers and doctors.”

For townspeople, parents and the generations who went to school here, it’s a bittersweet moment in local history – but also a sign of the times, and an economic reckoning. On Saturday at the WRSD district meeting, voters will be asked to decide on Article 3, which authorizes the School Board to sell the district-owned Union Sanborn building and its grounds, in accordance with state regulations.

It’s a common sense decision, school board members and other district residents say, and it’s greeted with mixed emotions.

“It’s sad,” said a Northfield mother dropping her child off at Union Sanborn Thursday morning. “I like the teachers here. It’s a smaller atmosphere and I like that.” She said she understands the reasons for closing, but, “It’s a shame,” she said, adding that she bristles at the idea of her fifth grader going to the middle school, which is part of the district’s plan for redistributing students to optimize class size and use of space.

Deb Turgeon of Northfield, whose children have attended Union Sanborn School, has fond memories of this place and an emotional attachment, like other parents and older residents who relished their childhood years here. When she learned of the closing, “I was heartbroken,” Turgeon said. “I had three kids go through the school, and years volunteering as a parent.”

Turgeon said she worries now about her child who will join a larger third-grade classroom at Southwick Elementary School. “I’m not concerned about kids re-establishing connections. Kids are kids. I’m more concerned about class sizes and the educational impact that will have.”

Last fall, in light of shrinking district enrollment that is echoed across the state, and looking at the costs involved in keeping the building open and teaching smaller and smaller classes here, the Winnisquam Regional School District School Board voted to close the pre-k through grade three school at the end of this year. Its kindergarten to third grade students will begin the 2022-2023 school year at Southwick Elementary School in Northfield. Children who live in Tilton, east of Interstate 93, will go to Sanbornton Central School, the other elementary school in the three-town district. Pre-schoolers will go to redesigned, dedicated space at Winnisquam Regional High School, with a secure, private playground. Fourth graders who currently attend Southwick or Sanbornton Central will attend fifth grade at Winnisquam Regional Middle School, where there is ample classroom space. The school was originally designed and built to accommodate fifth graders, said Nina Gardner, WRSD’s budget committee chair.

Gardner said making upgrades needed to modernize the Union Sanborn building could cost $8 million, and it makes educational and financial sense to move those students to the district’s newer schools. According to demographic studies of student enrollment, the Winnisquam Regional School District has lost more than 500 students since 1997, when it had 1,850 in elementary, middle and high schools that now serve a little over 1,340. Each year, the student population drops by 10 to 15 students a year, Gardner said, with the smallest classes at the youngest grades, sometimes with 10 to 11 kids. Next year’s projected district-wide enrollment is 1,327, Gardner said.

COVID caused further contraction in public school enrollment, Gardner said. “I think a lot of families had to make adjustments,” which included moving to charter or private schools or homeschooling with friends and neighbors who are parents. “The greatest decline is in elementary enrollment,” said Gardner, citing the results of demographic research conducted last fall. She said this factored into the district’s decision not to add onto Union Sanborn, Sanbornton Central or Southwick School. There are currently 150 slots available in classrooms at Southwick and Sanbornton Central, said Gardner, whose daughters attended Sanbornton Central.

By moving fifth grade to the middle school, “Both schools get the space they need to make this process work” and the district saves a lot of money, Gardner said. “We’re going from a physical plant of five buildings to four buildings." In terms of operating costs, the district saves roughly $500,000 in staff reductions alone.

“The district administration, school board and budget committee think these are prudent decisions because class sizes are getting small... It’s not economically viable,” said Gardner. “The story of school cooperative districts is we cooperate because we can’t do these things alone.

“For people who went to (Union Sanborn) and love it dearly, they may vote not to close it,” Gardner said. “I understand that perspective. Northfield will still have a lovely community school at Southwick. We don’t have to build anything. You can put a lof of money into (Union Sanborn School), but it’s always going to be an old building.”