Building Reorganization Information

A survey was released from January 10 to 25, 2024, asking stakeholders “Do you think it would be beneficial for our pre-K through sixth grade students to attend elementary school in a separate building?” and “Do you think it would be beneficial for our seventh and eighth grade students to attend middle school in a separate building?” 73% (483 people) agreed that students in pre-k through sixth grade should be in a separate building, and 73% (481 people) agreed that seventh and eighth grade students should be in a separate building. 

A second survey was conducted shortly after from February 22 to March 14. Stakeholders were asked “Should the Mount Vernon City School District change its primary school building configuration?” 59% of respondents (150 people) were in favor of a change.

With two surveys showing that stakeholders believed a change was necessary, the District began exploring options for potential reorganizations. A new building configuration was proposed in a third survey, running from October 11 to 31. Stakeholders were asked “Would you support relocating grades seven and eight from K-8 schools to our three themed high schools to ensure continuity of academic instruction related to graduation and career pathways? This move would help us foster a stronger sense of school community building. We will have designated age-appropriate instructional areas exclusively for seventh and eighth grade students.” 1,089 people (60%) were in favor of this configuration.

On Thursday, November 7, a town hall was held and stakeholders asked questions and provided additional feedback about the proposed configuration. The District recognized a need to establish subcommittees consisting of parents, teachers and community members. Individuals were encouraged to sign up for consideration by emailing the Executive Assistant to the Superintendent. A decision has not been made on what configuration the District will transition to, and the input and participation of all stakeholders is an important factor in whatever choices are made.

Another town hall meeting will be held on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 6 p.m., at Graham School. A revised school building configuration proposal will be discussed for a compromise and cost-effective model. Please submit questions and/or comments in advance to contactus@mtvernoncsd.org. The town hall can also be viewed via Zoom webinar. Click here to register for the Zoom webinar.

Another town hall will be held on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 6 p.m., at Graham School. in the future to allow for further community engagement as the District navigates this reorganization.

Click the image below to view the full presentation, "A Path to Sustainability and Growth," from the town hall meeting.

TOwn Hall Presentation

Town Hall Fact Sheet - December 6

Town Hall Fact Sheet - Text Only

1. What are the reasons that the Mount Vernon City School District is enacting a school reorganization?

• The current and projected declining enrollment.
• Staffing issues and inefficiencies 
• Underutilized Buildings 
• Capital improvements cited on the Building Condition Survey 
• Contracts that need to be settled: MVFT (Expired 6/30/2022), MVAG (Expired 6/30/2024), CSEA (Expires 6/30/2025) 
• Significant Fiscal Distress

2. What other measures is the District taking to address fiscal distress?
   
   The District is receiving payments for uncollected taxes from the City of Mount Vernon in order to recover from years of missing tax-funding since 2019. Grant funding is also being utilized to ensure students have high-quality programs throughout the District. Spending is being closely monitored by the Business Office through strict purchasing, payroll and auditing procedures.
    
3. How do I know what school my child will go to when the reorganization is implemented?
   
   The District will maintain open communication with families about the reasons for rezoning, the process of rezoning, and any anticipated changes in school offerings or programs. There are many factors that will contribute to how the District will be rezoned to accommodate a reorganization:

• Transportation and safety
• Demographic trends
• Capacity and utilization of school facilities
• Educational equity and access
• Transportation and safety
• Long-term flexibility 
• Legal and policy compliance

5. Will any schools be closed? If so, how many?
   
   A decision has not been made on if schools will be closed. If the current plan moves forward, three schools will be closed.
    
6. When will school closings be announced?
   
   The District will submit an application for rezoning to the Board of Cooperative Educations Services (BOCES) by February 2025. The schools will be scheduled for closing at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, should all benchmarks be met.
    
7. What is the timeline of the reorganization?
   
   View the timeline at the bottom of this page. 
    
8. Where can I find more information about the reorganization?
   
   You can find all information about building reorganization here at www.mtvernoncsd.org/our-district/building-reorganization-info. Information will be updated as the process continues. 
    
9. With more students in the remaining schools, will class sizes increase? 
   
   The District has established class size guidelines that we already use and will be strictly followed to maintain a reasonable number of students in each classroom. While some class sizes may increase slightly, buildings will be utilized more efficiently. Several buildings have several empty classrooms, and teachers may be moved from a closed school to those buildings and create new classrooms with similar class sizes. 
    
10. Why were these schools chosen to be closed?
    
    The three schools being considered for closure have lower enrollment and need significant repairs averaging about $25 million each. They are also located in close proximity to other school buildings, to have minimal impact on families.
     
11. Are there other options the District can offer that do not involve closing schools?
    
    The District needs a long-term, future-minded financially sustainable plan. At this point, the district must close buildings due to decreasing enrollments, the high cost of repairing those buildings and inefficiencies in the K-8 model. Demographic studies show enrollment trending down, with no indication that it will rise in the near future. In order to be financially responsible, the district needs to close schools and consolidate resources. While it may be difficult, this consolidation will allow the District to focus its resources more efficiently on fewer buildings.
     
12. Will the district need to lay off teachers and staff? Will there be a decrease in staffing? 
    
    Due to the financial situation the district is in, a staffing reduction is unavoidable. The district is committed to retaining faculty and staff as much as possible. Both of these models will result in the least disruption and minimize the amount of reduction the district needs to make. There are also factors such as retirement and attrition that will reduce reductions.
     
13. How will the district communicate further updates to its plans?
    
    Further updates to these plans will be announced regularly via District News at mtvernoncsd.org and the One Mount Vernon Digital Newsletter that is distributed by email each Friday. Click here to sign up for MVCSD notifications. You can also find up-to-date information about building reorganization at https://www.mtvernoncsd.org/our-district/building-reorganization-info.
    
    Click here to view the video of the first town hall
    Click here to view the video of the second town hall
     
14. Is the need for a building reconfiguration the result of not managing taxpayer dollars efficiently or appropriately?
    
    No. The District has strict financial management protocols and is overseen by internal and external auditors. This reconfiguration is a result of a combination of long-term issues related to the financial sustainability of the District, such as needing a solution to the expensive and unsustainable K-8 model that includes 13 middle schools with declining enrollment. 
     
15. What would a transition look like for students, parents and teachers? How would it be determined which schools these children will be relocated to? 
    
    The District will be reconfigured with support from the Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). School zones will be mapped out to ensure that each student can attend a school in proximity to their home. 
     
16. How will students get used to their new school? 
    
    The District’s clinical teams of counselors, psychologists and social workers will provide support to students as they navigate a new environment. Class sizes will be similar to avoid a major shift in the educational environment.
     
17. How will this affect the safety of students and staff when they are moved to another school? 
    
    The District is considering additional security measures such as having students enter their schools through different entrances based on their grade level and increasing security staff at each school. Measures such as separate bathrooms for different grade levels could also be implemented to reduce interactions between older and younger students. The District will also strictly enforce its code of conduct to reduce behavioral incidents that could affect student experience or safety.
     
18. Do city tax increases affect the school district? 
    
    When a municipal entity, such as a city, raises its tax rates, it does not affect the tax levy available to school districts. School districts must raise their own tax levy separately.
     
19. Will the rest of the schools in the district have students from the closed school(s)? 
    
    View the diagrams detailing each option to learn more about where students would be transferred to from each building. Click here to view the fact sheet with the diagram of each option.
     
20. How do I join a committee to provide input on the reorganization
    
    Applications to sign up for reorganization subcommittees closed on Friday, November 15, 2024.

Click here to view News 12 coverage

Acting Superintendent Dr. K. Veronica Smith recently held a Zoom meeting with families from Cecil H. Parker School, Mount Vernon Honor Academy and Mount Vernon Leadership Academy, the three schools with proposals to be closed. The District is proposing these closures due to declining enrollment, costly repairs of its older buildings and costs associated with maintaining the K-8 school model, as well as a NYS designation of significant fiscal stress. A long-term solution is essential, but no decisions have been made yet.

Based on survey data from the Town Hall (held both in-person and on Zoom) on December 6, 2024, Option 2, the modified K-8 model, is preferred by the community (117 votes for Option 2, compared to 98 for Option 3). In this proposed configuration, there would be four K-8 schools. These would be Pennington, Lincoln, Graham and Benjamin Turner. Denzel Washington School of the Arts and Mount Vernon STEAM Academy would become grades 7-12 schools, and Mount Vernon High School would be a 9-12 school with grade 7 and 8 Academic and Career Exploration (ACE) students. The remaining schools would become pre-K to grade 6 or K-6. While a school building configuration has not been decided yet, his model would allow for each student to attend a school in close proximity to their home.

You can view a translatable version of the fact sheet presented at the Town Hall on our website at https://www.mtvernoncsd.org/our-district/building-reorganization-info/town-hall-fact-sheet.

Further updates to these plans will be announced regularly as the District nears a decision via District news at mtvernoncsd.org and the One Mount Vernon Digital Newsletter that is distributed by email each Friday. Click here to sign up for MVCSD notifications. You can also find up-to-date information about building reorganization at https://www.mtvernoncsd.org/our-district/building-reorganization-info. 

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