I am writing this viewpoint as an almost 20-year resident of the ConVal district. I have two students who graduated from ConVal High School after attending 13 years in the district. I volunteered in Peterborough Elementary School and South Meadow Middle School, and participated in discussions at ConVal High School.

I have been watching the board meetings since they began online, even before this version of consolidation was proposed. This is not the first plan that an elected School Board has evaluated over the time we have lived here. Several years ago, a plan was proposed that would have combined the district to two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The School Board at that time declined to put that proposal forward.

This time, after hearing the feedback from the communities, this new plan keeps both small schools (Peterborough Elementary School and Antrim Elementary School) and smaller schools (Greenfield Elementary School and Hancock Elementary School), allowing parents choice for their children. Does this increase the cost of this plan? Yes. Does this attempt to hear those who feel like the jump to a school the size of PES will be too much? Yes. It’s a middle-ground proposal.

In my opinion, the status quo isn’t sustainable. If we were going to construct this district today, we would not build eight elementary schools. I’m grateful to the School Board for bringing this tough issue forward and trying to get the information out to the communities through mailers and taped forums about why they feel this is important for the education of the students. It would have been easier for them to continue to push the issue down the road.

The proposal has a one-year planning timeline built in. This year will be used to confirm and document school options for families, guidelines, busing, staff shifts and reallocations, lunches and other logistics. It’s an enormous problem-solving exercise and will take an immense amount of time of staff, School Board and community members. Other district priorities will be set aside to develop and communicate this plan. This is one reason why the board put the issue on the ballet now.

I provided a statement to the board in December; the following thoughts include some of what I shared and are food for thought.

Not moving forward has an opportunity cost. We do not have parity in our schools now. Some towns have active PTOs, trust funds and smaller class sizes. Others have more support services and access to different programs. I have the sense that many parents feel like maintaining the status quo is an option – I wholeheartedly disagree. We need to free up budget to compensate our teachers more to retain high-quality teachers. We should also be supporting them more effectively through professional learning communities (PLCs), which are harder to maintain across more facilities.

Fear of the unknown is worse than a known outcome. It’s more stressful for staff, students and parents to leave this situation up in the air for more months. Staff should know that we are not having any layoffs and that we want their input as we move forward.

Focus on the student outcomes, staff collaborations and family benefits. When you stabilize the offerings in our schools, what will be the student benefits? I believe before- and after-school programs are a very-much-needed resource. You are trying to look at the whole student life cycle.

Change is hard. Before we moved to Peterborough, I was a business consultant and specifically worked with change management. Many people have trouble acknowledging that they personally have trouble with change, but most people don’t want things to change.

Support the staff. The unknowns are especially difficult for them, and have been for years. The plan retains all staff members through the transition and beyond. Provide resources to staff so that they have non-emotional talking points. Listen to and address their concerns openly as you plan.

PES and AES are still small schools. My sons attended ConVal schools for 13 years each. At PES, my sons were known by the staff from the front office support staff to the principal. They never felt lost or disconnected and felt welcomed from the beginning. ConVal teachers and staff are amazing people who care deeply about the students. I have respect for all that they have done and what they will continue to do to support students.

Tina Kriebel is a Peterborough resident. Her husband Gregory Kriebel is a ConVal School Board representative from Peterborough.