Duggan school closure feared

By FRITZ MAYER

KAUNEONGA LAKE, NY — Residents of Bethel whose children attend the Cornelius Duggan Elementary School in White Lake are circling the wagons to fend off what they regard is a coming attack on their historic little school.

Cathleen Doherty, president of the Duggan parent teacher organization (PTO), told those assembled at the Bethel Town Board meeting on January 8 that she and other PTO members were concerned that the school would be closed because of the serious budget crunch facing the Monticello Central School District in the coming year. Doherty said that closing the school would affect businesses and community members, and might have a negative impact on property values.

Cathy McFadden, also a member of the PTO and a teacher at Duggan, said the closure of the school would save the district $2.5 million and that the district was facing a $3 million shortfall next year. McFadden said that if the school closed there was a danger that some residents, who recently moved into the town specifically because they wanted their children to attend Duggan, would move out. Duggan has 260 children compared with the George L. Cook and Kenneth L. Rutherford elementary schools in Monticello, which each have more than 500 students. McFadden said Duggan has 42 employees.

In a phone interview the next day, district superintendent Dr. Patrick Michel said there were two under-utilized schools, Duggan and the Emma C. Chase Elementary School in Wurtsboro, but he said there was no decision yet about closing either school. He said the district will be exploring options about whether to close a building or to fill the $3 million gap by other cuts, such as programs for music or sports.

He said it was too early to be expressing “gloom and doom” about the situation because no decisions have been made. He added that decisions will be made with input from the community, in such venues, for instance, as the “firehouse chats” he regularly conducts in the community.

Regardless, the PTO’s call to action at the meeting sparked promises of support from town lawmakers, two of whom said they were alumnae of the school. The board voted to send a letter of support for the school to the district.

Council member Richard Crumley said, “I’m an alumni of the school and my grandchildren go to the school, so this is a no-brainer.”

Michel said that he would attend a Duggan PTO meeting scheduled for January 14.