Milton school debate: Many questions, no answers

The town of Milton has two elementary schools that have been at the heart of debate for a decade.

State school profiles show H.O. Brittingham Elementary has a student population that is mostly nonwhite and low-income; state test scores are routinely the lowest among Cape Henlopen School District's four elementary schools. Less than a mile away, Milton Elementary's student population has fewer low-income students and is predominately white; at Milton, students routinely score well on state tests.

The differences between the two schools began in 2002 when the district opened two new middle schools and decided Milton Middle – which had been Milton High School before that – would become an elementary school in order  to ease overcrowding at Lewes's Shields Elementary.

Though school board members say it was not part of the original plan, the two schools eventually became largely segregated along racial and income lines.

It's a conundrum board member Spencer Brittingham has fought to change for five years. For most of that time, at his side was Noble Prettyman – the late school board member who fought even longer for parity between the schools.

“We agreed on that, if nothing else,” Brittingham said.

Now, Cape Henlopen School District is moving forward with plans for new or renovated elementary schools. Under tentative plans, a new school would be built at H.O. Brittingham Elementary, while Milton Elementary would be renovated. Which students go where is up for discussion.

Redrawing the lines

Some board members say the solution to glaring academic and socio-economic differences at Milton's two elementary schools could be made by the stroke of a pen.

“If the lines are redrawn, they'll be equal in representation,” said board member Roni Posner, who favors keeping the two schools K-5.

Superintendent Robert Fulton supports keeping Milton's schools K-5 and balancing the student population by redrawing attendance lines. A committee will work out sending areas for all elementaries including the new school on Route 24. Fulton said the committee will submit a plan to the school board for approval before the end of the school year. On Sept. 24, Fulton said a committee has not yet been established.

Brittingham insists that under Fulton's proposal, nothing will change unless the district suspends school choice. Most Milton Elementary students come from the Lewes area; school choice has exacerbated demographics between HOB and Milton, he said.

“The lines can be an attempt at pleasing, but it will be an exercise in futility because parents will find a reason to choice their kids to where they want to go,” he said.

Board Vice President Alison Myers agrees that in order for redistricting to work, school choice will have to be suspended.

“Once we redistrict I'd like school choice closed for two to three years,” she said. “It's the only way we can make this work.”

When the new school opens and sending districts shift for all elementary schools, she said, there could be a flood of Rehoboth and Lewes parents who choose to send their children into certain schools. It's an option the board must explore, she said.

“We will just have to put a freeze on it to see how things will shake out,” Myers said. “It won't be popular.”

And while she supports keeping both Milton elementaries K-5, Myers said, if redistricting fails to fix demographic disparities between the schools, she would consider the K-2, 3-5 split.

Tried and failed

The Milton question has been discussed on and off for a decade. In 2011, former Cape Superintendent Kevin Carson first proposed splitting the grade levels at the two schools, with one K-2 and the other grades 3-5; that idea was quickly shot down when Milton Elementary parents and teachers rose up against it. He tabled the idea until the district developed a long-range facilities plan and soon after resigned from his post.

In 2013, Fulton supported a K-2, 3-5 plan, and for a brief moment it appeared the school board would approve it. Again, however, some parents and teachers opposed the plan, and the board decided to turn its attention to a new elementary school before making changes in Milton. Brittingham and Prettyman were the only two board members who voted in favor of the K-2, 3-5 plan.

Fixing the school disparities is a fight Brittingham vows to continue.

“It's right, and it's time,” he said.

Election fodder

The Milton issue was at the forefront of nearly every school board election forum held in April and May.

School board candidate Gary Wray, who served on Cape Henlopen School Board 2005-10, said he was part of the board that turned Milton Middle into Milton Elementary in order to ease overcrowding.

“We really set up HOB to fail,” Wray said during an April forum. “We created that, and we need to come up with a solution.”

Estelle Parker Selby also served on Cape school board 2005-10. She said the school populations were balanced when she agreed to creating two K-5 elementaries in Milton. School choice and a lack of vision by administrators and board members are to blame for the current situation, she said.

“We thought it would be mostly older residents moving into the area,” Parker Selby said.

She said she remembers Prettyman adamantly against the plan for two elementary schools in Milton. “Noble didn't want it like that,” she said.

Now, Parker Selby said, the only way to fix the differences at the schools is to combine grades by school.

“Changing lines won't do it,” she said. I think they'll make a mistake doing it that way. We can't have a reputation of going back in time with segregation.”

Wray also supported reconfiguring grades at the Milton schools. He later lost the election to current board member Jason Bradley.

Bradley says he is not a big fan of the K-2, 3-5 split for Milton schools. He said his son was a kindergartner at Milton Elementary in 2002 when Lewes students were first sent there to ease overcrowding at Shields Elementary.

“I'm going with the K-5 for both schools until we have a more in-depth discussion,” he said. “The more information we get, the more educated decision we'll have.”

Posner briefly supported the K-2, 3-5 proposal as presented by Fulton when the majority appeared to be for it. Since then, she has backed the K-5 setup.

“I don't like chopping up kids' experience two years here, two years there,” she said. “Let them be in one place, and let them mature.”

Posner also said she never liked the idea of a mega-school, a proposal floated by a previous school board that would combine all Milton students in one school.

Lewis said he is also open to options, although he believes redistricting is the best way to fix the imbalance in demographics.

“If someone comes up with arguments for the other, I'd be open to that,” he said.

Mega-school bust

A mega-school concept similar to the Kathleen H. Wilbur Elementary in Bear was under serious consideration before Bradley, Myers and Brisco joined the school board. Both Brittingham and board member Jen Burton supported the concept of a new elementary school built on HOB property that would house K-5 students currently attending both schools.

In recent years, school board members have made two trips north to look at the Wilbur school and, Burton said, at one time there was enough support for the board to officially agree on it. Former board members Prettyman and Sara Wilkinson were in favor, she said, but Prettyman was often absent because of health reasons, leaving a 3-3 stalemate with Lewis, Posner and former board member Sandi Minard Johnson opposing the mega school.

Any remnant of support for the mega-school disappeared in June when a majority of school board members agreed to abandon it; Brittingham conceded in July to no longer pursue it.

Burton said she is still upset that the mega-school option was discarded.

“We had the support for it before. We had been looking at this school for years,” she said. “That is the best solution for long-term equality.”

While she agrees the K-2, 3-5 configuration is the next best way to equalize Milton schools, she said, now she is open to all options.

Since July, there has been no discussion of reconfiguring grades at the Milton schools, but it will be on the Oct. 8, for discussion, Lewis said.

Brittingham said the promise of future discussion these past months is only prolonging the inevitable.

“I think it's been a Band-Aid, so we don't talk about it at the meeting,” he said.

Parents divided on future of Milton elementaries

HOB parents support change

On a steamy September afternoon, parents walked to H.O. Brittingham Elementary to pick up their children at the end of the school day.

“It seems silly to have two schools, kindergarten through fifth grade, less than a mile apart,” said parent Katie Floyd. “There's tension over demographics. I like the idea of a kindergarten to second grade at HOB and 3-5 at Milton. That would solve the issue.”

Parent Jason Johnson said he also likes the idea of sending Milton's younger students to HOB and older students to Milton. It could help improve education for all students, he said.

“I can see academic differences between the schools,” he said.

Sending younger children to HOB would work well for the one-story building, said parent Nidea Hudson, adding two-story Milton Elementary is better suited for older students.

“I think having two K-5 schools so close is too much,” she said.

Milton resident William Gibbs said he sees favoritism between the schools, which would be solved if grades are combined.

“If we're all going to be here, we all have to work together,” he said.

Parent Kaci Larrimore said she hears HOB teachers support the K-2, 3-5 split. Even if the school district keeps the two schools K-5, Larrimore said, she wants the demographics changed.

“It looks like the sending lines have been gerrymandered,” she said. “I absolutely support the K-2, 3-5 setup. It's tough for kindergartners to go to school with fifth-graders.”

Retiree and grandparent Linda Shaughnessy said she also likes the idea of splitting Milton's schools by grade, but she warns that there may be some push back from older residents on fixed incomes who cannot afford to pay for a new school.

“Retirees aren't going to want to see property taxes go up,” she said.

School board member Jackie Brisco, who was appointed by the school board to serve in Prettyman's area A seat, said she has heard concerns from parents that nothing will be done for HOB.

“People have been saying that to me,” she said. “But I'm not sure what the final decision will be. I'm still weighing both options.”

She has asked Fulton for information on new sending areas for the schools, but he has provided no details.

“I think we'll bring closure to it soon. I can't tell you when, but it'll be soon,” she said.

Milton likes it the way it is

A few hundred yards away, at Milton Elementary, opinions change. Most parents and teachers want the school to stay the same.

“I would rather see it stay the way it is,” said Milton resident Mike Justice.

Milton resident Kathie Allen said Milton Elementary is working fine the way it is.

“I think the school is great as is,” she said. “It would be a shame to break it up.”

Milton Elementary teacher Lisa Schlater said teachers are against changing to a K-2, 3-5 grade split between HOB.

“We still feel very strongly that the students are best served in the K-5 continuum,” she said, noting the biggest fear is losing the small-school feel that Milton offers. Relationships with students and teachers are uninterrupted, providing for the best educational experience, she said.

“Research has shown that transitions, especially in low socio-economic students, are detrimental,” she said. “It is great for the students to have the family atmosphere throughout their six years in elementary school.”

As a teacher, Schlater said, grouping too many teachers together by grade would make planning periods impossible. The ability for current teachers to communicate with teachers who previously taught a student would also be lost, she said.

Schlater pointed out that Milton Elementary was created to help ease overcrowding in the school district when Beacon and Mariner middle schools opened.

“MES was an available building that resulted in a low-cost solution for the district’s problem of overcrowding,” she said.

At least one parent, however, said she believes the K-2, 3-5 would benefit students.

“The demographics are way off, and I don't think that's right,” said Milton resident Laura Owens, who has two children at MES. “It seems like it's more cost-effective to have more like ages together.”