Tom Kirlin, Francestown’s representative of the ConVal School Board, emphasized in a Select Board meeting Monday night that if residents want a say in the future of Francestown Elementary School, they will need to participate in the study being conducted by project manager Prismatic.

The ConVal Strategic Organization Committee has hired Prismatic to study on the district’s current 11 facilities -- eight elementary schools, two middle schools and ConVal Regional High School – and recommending reconfiguring strategies to the committee amid declining enrollment. Committee Chairman Alan Edelkind said in May that “there is no plan in place to eliminate anything” regarding laying off teachers or closing schools.

Prismatic will be conducting research on the priorities of the towns in the ConVal district through community meetings and surveys, with online options for participation. The Select Board decided on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 as tentative dates for the first two public meetings in Francestown, contingent on Prismatic’s approval.

“My biggest takeaway from all of this is, if we, the Francestown citizens want to be heard, we have to participate,” said Kirlin. “And my promise to the town is I'll make sure our word is heard. Because I'm part of the process. And being totally non-selective on either side of ‘close the school’ or ‘give the school back,’ anybody that's a citizen who has a feeling should passionately express that in the next coming weeks, through these forums, surveys and town meetings. I think that that is the only way that we're going to be heard.”

Kirlin said Prismatic took special interest in ConVal due to the requirement that any proposed change to the number of elementary schools would require a two-thirds public vote to amend the district’s Articles of Agreement.

“They took interest in this project in particular because of the requirement for a two-thirds vote to get anything passed, which is interesting to them,” said Kirlin. “It's unusual. So they took great interest in it, which is good for us.”

According to Kirlin, the ConVal district has seen one year of student body growth in the past 17, which has led Prismatic to an early assumption of non-growth. He went on to say that perception could be problematic, because the figures relating to student body growth do not reflect home-schooling. Kirlin noted that previously home-schooled students often join the public school system unexpectedly, and the current ratio in Francestown between public and home-schooled children is “almost to the point of being 50/50.”

Another point of concern with the Prismatic projections is the recent growth of Hancock Elementary School which, according to Kirlin, recently hired a kindergarten teacher to mitigate a rise in student enrollment. 

“Hancock's growing, even if everybody else is flat-lining,” said Kirlin. “We at least got some sort of growth, and the growth is enough to break our ratios and cause us to hire a new teacher.”

“So that's inconsistent right there,” said Select Board Chairman Scot Heath in response. “Statistical analysis has its limitations.” 

FES had the second-fewest students in the ConVal district in the 2022-2023 school year, with 45. Temple Elementary School reported 33 enrolled students. Peterborough Elementary School had the most students among the elementary schools, with 232, followed by Antrim Elementary School with 130. Overall, the district had 1,999 students.

Despite its small size, Kirlin cited the proficiency scores of the school.

“Testing results just came out, and Francestown is significantly higher than any school in the district in testing,” said Kirlin. “We're talking about 83%, and some are as low as 53% proficiency [in other schools in the district.] You find plenty of research that says school and classroom size has a significant impact on learning until it gets too small.”

Heath asked what would happen to the land if the school were to close.

“Where I'm going is we're considering whether we should start some kind of a study committee, that if the school should close, should we be in some kind of a position to at least discuss the future of the building the real estate, alternative schools?” he said.

After some consultation with Town Administrator Jamie Pike, it was revealed that the land was bought at market price by the Francestown School Board and the building was erected soon after. 

Heath emphasized the town’s preparation for the outcome of Prismatic’s findings.

“I surely I mentioned it to the Planning Board last Tuesday,” said Heath. “All these boards going to be talking about it more and whether there's a need to be prepared for something or just let happen whatever is going to happen.”