Falls Village, bigger can be better!

This  is the first of a two-part column.

In the wake of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, an oft-repeated question asked in banking and regulatory circles was “How big is too big?†In rural school districts like ours, the more appropriate query might be “How small is too small?â€

Recent enrollment and per-pupil cost statistics in the news media have left me shaking my head in disbelief. Costs continue their steady rise at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, where the Region One Board of Education labors every year to combat the expensive combination of shrinking enrollments and an escalating cost of living.

Trying to preserve an affordable comprehensive regional high school whose enrollment has dipped to 490 and will shrink for the foreseeable future is a Sisyphean task. Under the circumstances, our regional school board does a commendable job of controlling costs. Most of the recent budget increases of the last several years have been under 3 percent, resulting in spending packages that typically pass muster with taxpayers on the first try. It is a far cry from 2001, for example, when the budget was defeated several times and underwent real cutting before finally passing.

Fortunately, most of the six towns that comprise the district have a stable tax base of either industry (North Canaan) or weekenders who pay high taxes on nice properties but do not enroll their kids in our schools (Kent, Salisbury, Sharon). That combination keeps our taxes relatively low.

But there is a big exception in our midst. The tiny town of Falls Village has the worst of all worlds when it comes to education funding. It has an extremely limited tax base, an aging population and a poor economy of scale. Except for Hamilton Books, there is almost no industry.

Last time I checked, a few years ago, the assessor told me nearly 50 percent of the assessed value of its real estate is exempt from local property taxes. Why? There’s an abundance of state-owned land, land held by the Nature Conservancy and other nonprofits, and lots of low-assessed unimproved land owned by public utilities such as Connecticut Light & Power.

At $21,074 per pupil, the town’s K-8 public educational facility, the Lee H. Kellogg School, is easily the most expensive in the state. Next year, the total enrollment is projected to drop from 96 to 85 students, resulting in a rise in per-pupil costs to $22,374. Good grief! There are public schools in the state that educate students for half that amount.

To their credit, the selectmen have recently expressed concern and have vowed to meet later this year with the town’s Board of Education to discuss the matter. My question is: Will the focus be on cutting staffing levels to control costs or will a more radical solution be on the table — consolidation with another town?

Judging from the lack of participation in recent budget votes — 25 residents showed up Friday night to approve a 2010-11 budget in which the mill rate will rise to 19.5 — taxpayers seem willing to foot the bill in order to preserve their community school. If I were a taxpayer in Falls Village, I would not.

Lakeville resident Terry Cowgill is a former editor and senior writer at The Lakeville Journal Company and is director of development at The Gilbert School in Winsted. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached at terrycowgill@gmail.com.