Dear Members of the Marlboro Community,
The school board thanks all who attended the first of three community meetings to discuss the vision and challenges facing Marlboro School. Approximately 70 people attended and there was a vibrant moderated discussion about our hopes for the school as we go forward
The second meeting, scheduled for December 1st at 6:30 PM at Marlboro School, will open with a presentation by the School Board of this process and the challenges, with time for questions. Attendees will then participate in a moderated session run by our facilitator to discuss how we can best meet our shared vision, given the challenges we face.
The third meeting, scheduled for January 5th at 6:00pm will combine the first two meeting conversations bringing vision and challenges into a conversation to sustainably move Marlboro School into the future. All three community conversations are intended to give an opportunity to stakeholders to process information to inform a decision about the school structure. The result will be decided by an Australian Ballot at a meeting date to be decided.
The challenges that need to be addressed are:
1. Access to programming that provides social and enriching opportunities for all Marlboro Town Students
2. Financial
- including varying renovation costs for a PK-6 or PK-8 school
- programming for a PK-6 or PK-8 school.
3. Declining enrollment leading to smaller classroom sizes due to many factors
At the meeting, an overview of what the financial impacts would be for a PK-6 or PK-8 school including cost comparison estimates and the tuition payments involved.
By January the school board will have estimates of the Education Tax Rate impacts of the various options so voters will be able to see how local taxes would be affected. The school board is also working with Banwell Architects to get good cost estimates for any building improvements that should need to be made to the school. The bottom line is that a school building which houses more students is going to be more expensive to renovate.
The school board will be collecting all questions and we will do our best to get them answered before the third meeting.
Thank you again for your engagement as we look to the future.
Marlboro School District Board
Doug Korb, Chair
Celena Romo, Vice-Chair
Jeremy Kirk, Clerk
Nelli Sargsyan
Dan MacArthur
Dec 27, 2024, 2 to 5 PM
Off Trail Ramble Dec. 28Dec 28, 2024, 11 AM to 12 PM
Brookline Selectboard Meeting Rescheduled to Jan. 3Jan 3, 2025, 6:30 to 9:30 PM