To the Editor:

Closing any school in Newtown, especially the historic Hawley Elementary School, is not a good idea. Hawley turns 100 years old in six years and was one of the six gifts given to the town of Newtown by Elizabeth Hawley.  Not many towns have history like that.  We need to keep and preserve this historical resource and not let it fall into decay like the buildings at Fairfield Hills. 

Elizabeth Hawley built Hawley School for Newtown.  She gave it to us and entrusted us to keep it running.  She left $20,000 a year to the school for expenses. If Hawley closes the $20,000 goes to Yale each year. I think Yale has enough money. Keep the money at Hawley and keep the students at Hawley.

The other concern I have is with the notion that enrollment is declining.  It is true that next year's enrollment across the district will be lower than this year's. New trends in enrollment can start at the K-4 level, and while looking at the actual enrollment reports from the BOE from 2010 to the current school year I found something amazing in the data.  These enrollment reports are a snapshot of what enrollment did during that school year.  Enrollment in K-4 schools this year (August 2014 - May 29, 2015) went up by 13 students!  This has never happened since 2010 (2010 is the oldest enrollment information on the BOE website).  Is this the new normal growth that K-4 will be experiencing in the future?  No one can predict, but for the committee to recommend closing Hawley School because of declining enrollment seems to be a misstep.  Of the 13 students added in K-4 Hawley’s addition was ten new students, SH added seven, Head O' Meadow gained six and Middle Gate lost three.  According to these actual numbers, Hawley is growing!  Could this be the beginning of the next wave of growth in Newtown?  It seems to me that slowing down/stopping the rush to close a school will enable a more thoughtful assessment of the true trends in student enrollment.

In two years Sandy Hook will open a new state-of-the-art school that will draw new people to town.  New housing developments in Sandy Hook will also draw new people to town.  Hawley and Sandy Hook will continue to grow and closing down Hawley doesn't make sense. 

Let's work together as a community to protect this historical resource.  Together we can preserve and protect the history that makes Newtown great, while also providing for the educational needs of our children.

Amanda Roggenbauer

Anthony Ridge Road, Newtown             June 10, 2015