Guest Column: When Denial Becomes Opportunity
"I’m done leasing my education at Newbury and excited to invest in my future at West Geauga." – Dana Pavick
Let me start by introducing myself. I am a mom of three, two of which attend Newbury elementary school and one who starts kindergarten in the fall. I am a Newbury BKP member (our version of PTO) and was just appointed vice president. I volunteer and run many programs at the elementary school. I am also a member of the Newbury Rec Board and helped bring Girl Scouts back to Newbury. I am an involved and informed member of this community.
My children love their school. They love their friends and teachers, and they love being Black Knights. But after attending board meetings, doing a lot of independent research and meeting with our superintendent, Dr. Hoynes, I am excited for the future of Newbury Schools. It is expected that Newbury’s territory transfer to West Geauga Schools will begin the fall of 2020.
I started off as a parent who wanted nothing more than for her small-town comfortable school to stay independent. I know everyone, my kids are in small class sizes with loving teachers and the unknown was scary, but it came to a point where I could no longer ignore the facts that were right in front of me all along: (1) an aging building that is taking up the majority of our funds. (2) enrollment that keeps dropping. (3) a pretty much non-existent gifted program. (4) limited clubs and programs at all levels, and (5) a state ranking of 319 where only seven out of 24 standards are being met.
It is already close to impossible to pass a levy at Newbury Schools and, in my opinion, it won’t happen again, mostly because the very people who worked so hard to pass those levies in the past have either moved on to a new school or are working even harder to insure a stable future for our students.
A failed levy would lead us to the state taking over and deciding our fate for us. That is the last thing I want. So, what is it that I want for my children’s education? A top-ranked school system, an abundance of extracurricular activities, sports programs that I won’t have to worry about having enough players for, a more inclusive special needs program and a well-rounded gifted program. I want more than just College Credit Plus; I want AP courses. CCP and AP courses apply to different types of students which is why it is important that schools offer both.
I want the kind of school that gets $30,000 from a donor for the music department. I want the kind of school that will provide my children with the best chance to thrive in their adult life.
These are all things that you will find at West Geauga.
In March 2017, on a Monday morning, our school board backed out of talks with West Geauga and, I’m not going to lie, I was originally thrilled. At the time, I was naive and did not know everything that I know now about the state of our school.
Some community members ran a race for school board (and won that election by a landslide) that was based on facts and informing the public on the reality of the situation that we had gotten ourselves into, and that is a school that is failing to meet the needs of its students. And, because of that we have fewer and fewer students enrolling at Newbury, we spend more money on our building than we do education. We have a state report card that is less than desirable. We put more emphasis on sports than we do education, and we might not even have a football or soccer team next year.
When the campaign started up, two Facebook groups were made: “It’s Time,” which shared facts and data, and “It’s Time to Save Our School,” which shared opinions, rumors and pictures of students playing sports. We have small classes and, somehow, we have 11 kids that are not on track to graduate. Dr. Hoynes informed the community on that fact at one of her first board meetings. How does a school with so few students have so many students falling through the cracks?
I know there has been a lot of buzz on social media about a referendum to try to stop the territory transfer to West Geauga from happening. I understand people being upset. Perhaps you wanted Newbury to stay independent or even for Newbury to join with Berkshire.
But I fear people may not understand what a referendum means. If these angry community members can get the appropriate number of signatures to make a referendum happen, that would mean that Newbury cannot vote for a territory transfer or merger for two more years. In those two years, West Geauga and Berkshire might not want us anymore. In those two years, we will have to find a way pass a levy and fund our school. In those two years, it is possible that our enrollment at Newbury will be in the 200s, which indicates our community no longer supports our public education.
As for the people on social media and newspapers that are vocal about wanting the referendum and wanting Newbury to stay independent, I strongly urge you to do the research as to what ages their children are. Many of them are currently sophomores or, in other words, the first class to not be graduating from Newbury.
Our old board President Susan Arnold has been speaking at ESC meetings and having interviews with newspapers. She has been quoted saying she thinks this issue should be put to a vote. Our community has already voted against her and she is still trying to persuade this town that she knows best.
A vote wasn’t necessary when she was on school board — voting no to West Geauga — but now apparently a vote is necessary. And why is that? Because fear is real and the grades of her children is no coincidence in this matter. There is no doubt this is a hard time for them and their transition may be tough. But we cannot sit by and let parents of high schoolers decide the fate for our small children who do not have a voice. There has never been a time in Newbury history where other schools have shown interest in us and we might never get this chance again.
It was hard to accept the school that my children and I loved so much might not be around anymore. No more black and orange football games. No more five-minute drives to school. No more close relationships with all the kids in my children’s classes.
But it came to a point where I had to push out of my comfort zone and accept reality. That reality is that Newbury Schools’ time is coming to an end. We will miss all the teachers and the “home” feeling we get at Newbury, but are excited for the future at our new home, West Geauga Schools.
Wanting a stable school and a better education for my children does not mean I do not have tremendous love for the school that has nurtured and educated my children for the last few years. I will be sad to see it come to an end, but amazing things happen when you leave your comfort zone. We are a Black Knight family; my husband graduated from Newbury and moved us back here so our children could attend the same school that he loved. But now is the time to act for the betterment of our community. I’m done leasing my education at Newbury and excited to invest in my future at West Geauga.
Dana Pavick
Newbury Township
