By KIM SMITH DEDAM
LAKE CLEAR — The last day of school today at Lake Clear Elementary is the last day forever.
Saranac Lake Central School Board voted in November to close the small school due to budget constraints and declining district enrollment.
Lake Clear, which had 48 students this year, is a small school for kindergarten to grade 3. Its highest enrollment — when it used to extend to grade 4 — was 70 students.
READY TO MOVE ON
On the last full day of school, Teaching Principal Raymond Dora’s third-graders stood in front of their final project, a giant map of the Appalachian Trail that brightened the hallway.
Three of the students said they’d like to hike the entire route someday, raising their hands to be counted in earnest.
They all declared they are ready for fourth grade.
These 10 Lake Clear graduates would have matriculated into surrounding schools at Petrova Elementary and Bloomingdale anyway.
Still, they seemed wistful, knowing the doors won’t open for other kids next year.
The Lake Clear kids all had patches of honor pinned to their shirts.
“Great Things Happened Here,” the badges said, “Lake Clear School 1955-2009.”
MARKING PASSAGE
The school and community celebrated 54 years of existence several times in the last week, with a barbecue for parents past and present; the usual kindergarten graduation; and a few quiet and private moments, giving pause over packing.
Dora has taught at Lake Clear for 36 years.
“It’s been fun,” he said Thursday. “We’ve had some good times here.
“We had a nice celebration last Friday with lots of parents, teachers from the past, students from the past, hot dogs and hamburgers.”
The greatest memories he’ll take from Lake Clear are of families and all of their support, he said.
“We held a kindergarten celebration for the kindergarten class moving up; I had a lot of their parents in school.”
The children have moved through the final weeks without missing a beat, he said.
STAFF RETAINED
None of the staff members lost a job. Four of the five teachers here have new elementary teaching positions at other Saranac Lake schools, and one is retiring, said Mike Kilroy, district business manager.
“One teacher was going to be laid off but was kept on with additional Title 1 funding as a reading coach district-wide, mostly in Bloomingdale,” Kilroy said.
Dora is going to teach fourth grade at Petrova Elementary.
The school administration is looking to either sell or lease the building, leaning heavily toward the lease option.
“We can’t sell it without voter approval. We probably wouldn’t sell it anyway,” Kilroy said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen years down the road.”
Lake Clear students all have child-sized chairs waiting for them at other Saranac Lake elementary schools.
“Sixty percent of the students are coming into Petrova,” Kilroy said, “and 40 percent will go over to Bloomingdale.”
The closure removes one school bus and two routes from circulation.
If the children seem largely unaffected by the change, it’s a credit to the community, teachers and staff, he said.
STAYING UPBEAT
Parents were heartbroken with the initial decision last fall.
“Parents seem pretty good,” Dora said Thursday.
“They’re going to miss the school. It was a community center for them.”
Rebecca Buerkett, founding member of the Lake Clear Booster Club, said they’ve worked toward a smooth transition.
“I know the teachers and the Boosters together have been trying to keep things upbeat and positive and normal as possible, for the kids’ sake. We know they’re going to good schools.
“I mean, we wish they were staying at Lake Clear. But I think that what I would say to other parents (who might face a similar situation) is celebrate the wonderful things that happen at your school. Try to work together with the district and instead of complaining, say, ‘Look, what can we do to help this school?’
“We have had such an incredible staff who put so much effort into the school and the programs and a lot of parents who were energized to help.
“I guess people have to make advocating for your school a priority,” she said. “The students benefit when you do that, even down to the end.”
With no staff leaving the district, the Lake Clear success will spread, Buerkett said.
“I know the teachers are going to take these wonderful programs with them where they go.”
E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at:
kdedam@pressrepublican.com
