Should Rondout Valley’s fourth graders return to the elementary schools? Parents, teachers and district leaders debated the question Tuesday evening, Oct. 6, at a community engagement forum on grade-level configuration in the high school auditorium. Many parents argued that children that age belong in an elementary school. Others urged the district to weigh the costs before making a change.

Superintendent Paul Spadaro emphasized that no decisions have been made. The forum was intended to gather community input before consultant Dr. Kevin Baughman presents his final study to the Board of Education on Nov. 17.

How the district got here

Fourth grade has been housed at the Rondout Valley Middle School campus since the 2013–14 school year, when Rosendale Elementary closed. Kindergarten through third-grade students were absorbed into Marbletown Elementary, filling the school to capacity and leaving no room for fourth grade.

A community survey conducted in June 2024 found that 77% of respondents supported moving fourth grade back to the elementary schools. Respondents also raised concerns about whether placing fourth graders alongside older students was developmentally appropriate.

An internal district committee studied options, including transportation changes and new attendance boundaries, but could not find an affordable long-term solution. Last February, the board hired Baughman, who has more than 35 years of experience in education, to take a closer look.

Baughman said his study draws on interviews with teachers, parents, staff, board members and other community members. It also incorporates published research on grade configuration and student transitions, state test scores, comparisons with similar districts, and enrollment projections.

Fewer Students, Tighter Budgets

Citing New York State Department of Health data, Baughman said births in the district are declining. Kindergarten enrollment this fall was 95 students, down from 152 in 2007–08. He noted that kindergarten class sizes tend to remain relatively stable as students progress through 12th grade.

District enrollment has fallen from 2,576 students in 2007–08 to about 1,600 today, a loss of roughly 970 students. Baughman projects a further decline of about 270 students by the 2035–36 school year.

Smaller classes and additional space are potential benefits of declining enrollment, but Baughman warned that fewer students also mean less funding. He said the state’s “save harmless” provision, which protects districts from reductions in aid, is likely to disappear eventually.

He pointed to the district’s current budget, approved in May, which included 12 or 13 staff reductions and drew about $4 million from district reserves to avoid deeper cuts.

The Case for Moving Fourth Grade

Baughman said research strongly supports placing fourth graders in elementary schools and that housing them in a middle school is highly unusual. He credited the district with working hard to keep fourth graders separate from older students but said children develop best among peers close to their own age.

He also said fewer school transitions are associated with better student outcomes. A K–4 elementary school and a 5–8 middle school are more typical of similar New York districts, he added. Baughman estimated that the move itself would cost little or nothing.

The fourth-grade band program was one of the major questions raised at the forum. Under Baughman’s proposal, band students would take an early bus to the middle school for rehearsal one or two mornings a week, then ride to their elementary schools before the school day begins. The district followed this arrangement before 2013.

Concerns About Marbletown

Baughman said most concerns center on Marbletown Elementary. Moving about 71 fourth graders there would bring enrollment to roughly 330 students. He highlighted three issues:

Septic system: Architects flagged the building’s primary septic system for replacement in 2021. Adding students could accelerate a failure, and replacement would likely cost more than $1.1 million.

Traffic: During afternoon pickup, the line of cars already backs up onto Route 213, creating what Baughman called a safety concern.

Space: Marbletown already has the highest number of students per square foot of any district building. With fourth grade added, the school would have about 158 square feet per student, compared with roughly 300 square feet at the middle and high schools.

Kerhonkson Elementary, by contrast, has plenty of room.

What Parents and Teachers Said

Most people who spoke at the forum were parents of elementary school students, and most supported moving fourth grade. One mother said the safety of an elementary school mattered more than the logistical challenges, which she believed could be solved. Another parent, whose daughter had just started kindergarten at Marbletown, said she had considered other schools after learning that fourth grade was housed at the middle school campus.

Music supporters challenged how the band program had been characterized. One speaker said more than two-thirds of current fourth graders participate in band. A fourth-grade teacher said the district has 109 fourth graders this year, about three-quarters of whom participate in band, while roughly two-thirds sing in chorus.

A parent strongly objected to a slide listing music among the programs that could be cut as enrollment declines. Officials responded that the slide was intended only as an example.

The same teacher, a 21-year district veteran, urged parents to speak with families whose children had already made the transition to the middle school. She said parents who are nervous at the start of the school year are usually reassured by the time parent-teacher conferences arrive. She also questioned whether the presentation fully accounted for the costs of special education programs, staff travel and busing.

Parents raised additional questions about longer days for young band students, support for students with special needs, teachers’ views on the proposed move, and whether families with babies and preschoolers had been consulted.

Spadaro said related-service providers, including occupational and physical therapists and speech staff, would travel between buildings, and the district could budget for that expense. Locations for self-contained special education classes have not yet been determined.

Addressing transportation costs, transportation supervisor Annemarie Holden said bus drivers are paid for a three-hour minimum per run, so return trips to the elementary schools would add little expense.

Spadaro also noted an advantage of the current arrangement: All fourth-grade teachers work in one building and can plan together, while kindergarten through third-grade teachers are divided between two schools.

Other Options Considered

Baughman said redrawing attendance boundaries could ease crowding at Marbletown, but it would create “winners and losers.” A proposal to use Mettacahonts Road as a boundary and shift about 25 students would provide only modest relief. A larger shift of 45 or 50 students would be necessary to make a greater difference.

The district also considered placing younger elementary grades in one building and older elementary grades in the other. That option was dropped because of transportation costs.

Spadaro said the district could explore a parent’s suggestion to move universal pre-K to Kerhonkson to free up space at Marbletown.

Baughman said declining enrollment will eventually ease crowding, but probably not for another eight to ten years.

What’s Next

Baughman will present his final report to the Board of Education on Nov. 17. Comments from the community forum will be incorporated into his research.

Spadaro said the board may request further analysis before making a decision. Any change will also be considered as part of the district’s long-term strategic plan.