To the Editor:

In January, 2014, our family moved to Newtown. The timing, we thought, was right. By the winter of 2013 we were outgrowing our modest starter home, and facing the prospects of sending our two bright and growing children into a school system that was consolidating schools, and we felt going forward wouldn’t bring out their full potential – it was time to move. There were really only two criteria – commutable to our current jobs, and a first rate school system. We home-searched throughout the area – Wilton, Redding, Ridgefield, Monroe, Bethel etc. – even across the border in New York. All were commutable, and some met our school criteria, but only one was “right”. The overwhelming factor in our move to Newtown was the school system. We met with Jo-Ann Peters Edmonson, while our children sat in on classes in what would be their new school, and as a family fell in love with Hawley.

And it was the right choice at the time. Our children’s first year at Hawley has been tremendous. The staff has been loving and responsive and thoughtful, and our children have grown accordingly. And now, faced with a declining enrollment and the opportunity (potentially) to save $1 million or so, the BOE is considering whether to close a school, and if so close Hawley and undergo a large redistricting effort.

The new configurations will be disruptive for every family with a current Pre-K through 6th grader in their house today, and have unknown effects on the entire community. Children are resilient (more than parents sometimes), and I know, if asked to make them, my children will probably handle the transitions, and continue to thrive. At least, this is my sincere hope. Some children, no doubt, will struggle with the transitions. I’m obviously very selfishly concerned about my own daughter’s current first grade class, who might be asked to make an extra transition – Hawley 2nd grade, Head of Meadow or SHES 3rd grade, Reed 4th grade.

We were attracted to, and chose, Newtown because of the schools – especially Hawley, at the visible center of the community. Closing Hawley (or any school) is a signal to prospective families that the town is shrinking, that the town is prioritizing educational budget cuts, to the point of a major redistricting effort to save, what many would consider, a relatively small amount. If we were making a moving decision today, given the prospect of Newtown without Hawley, sadly it’s likely we would have chosen elsewhere. Families like mine will consider closing elementary schools and untested cohort configurations negatively. The shrinking enrollment projections will become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

We are proud to live here, and ultimately glad we moved. But please consider that closing Hawley might deter families like mine from ever knowing what a great place this is to be.

Allison and Kevin Boughan

34 Woodbine Lane, Sandy Hook    June 10, 2015