On March 18, the Moscow School Board gathered public comments on shuttering Russell Elementary School. The Moscow-Pullman Daily News quotes Nadine Edwards as calling the plan “short-sighted.” Edwards seems unaware of the Moscow School District’s 33-year enrollment decline and the prolonged debate over closing Russell or West Park Elementary.
Rewind to 1999. Daily News staff writer Ted McDonough delivered a no-punches-pulled piece on Edward Fisk, then at the helm of the school district alongside the Moscow School Board and the Moscow Education Association. McDonough’s expose revealed a stark mismatch: enrollment had plummeted by 213 students since the 1996-97 academic year, yet the number of teaching staff had ticked up.
Fast forward to 2001. Heather Frye of the Lewiston Tribune was already probing into MSD’s downsizing dilemma. Fisk discussed the closure of West Park Elementary, a move that would distribute students across three other schools in the district. So, this isn’t a crisis out of the blue: it is a 25-year ailment that has not been treated.
Back in March 2007, I wrote an editorial in the Daily News against the proposed $2 million annual, never-ending school levy. My argument was straightforward: MSD had seen a 13% nosedive in student numbers over the last decade, yet the staff numbers had ballooned by more than 30%. Pouring more funds into this setup just didn’t add up.
By April 2007, the Idaho Legislature’s directive for a “School District Administration and Oversight” study by the Department of Education finally spurred the conversation toward efficiency. The report showed MSD and Preston Joint School District to have near-identical enrollment figures, but a significant disparity in staffing and financial resources. MSD had more schools and a heftier crew of administration and support staff. This scenario of maintaining surplus buildings, amplified by districts flush with local funding beefing up their administrative ranks, directly feeds into the cycle of increased staff, escalated overhead costs, and unmistakably, greater waste. MSD was consequently flagged for excess.
In a June 2021 editorial, I pointed out a striking anomaly: MSD’s student count hit its peak in 1991 and had been on a sharp decline ever since. Data from the Idaho Department of Education painted a clear picture: from 2,602 students in the 1991-1992 academic year to just 2,107 in 2020-2021.
A logical step, I argued, could be scaling back to the staffing levels of 1991 when enrollment was at its peak. Streamlining to 1991 levels, when our schools were brimming with 500 more students, begs the question: if MSD managed to educate a larger cohort with fewer hands then, why the swell in staff and administrators to teach 500 fewer now?
Moreover, I advocated for closing an elementary school, considering the elementary student body had diminished by 490 from its highest point, with dwindling new enrollments. I recommended merging one of the smaller schools (Russell with 154 students and West Park with 156) into the other elementary schools. This wasn’t a groundbreaking proposal; the same suggestion came from the superintendent’s office back in 2001.
Yet, here we are, 23 years on, facing claims that we’re rushing into decisions. However, current enrollment numbers speak volumes: Russell now hosts 139 students and West Park 153.
Despite Moscow’s population ballooning by 29% since 1991, MSD faces a baffling 23% slump in student numbers. The enigma of the missing children has a dual explanation: the nationwide dip in birth rates and a demographic tilt towards fewer children among progressives, shrinking the pool of potential government school attendees. Recognizing these trends, MSD already pivoted in 2012, relocating 9th and 6th graders to better utilize existing facilities. It’s evident — this isn’t a new puzzle; it’s an evolving challenge we’ve seen coming, questioning our spending as numbers dwindle.
As MSD’s enrollment takes a nosedive, Moscow Charter School (MCS) is on an upward trajectory, ballooning from 159 students in the 2017-2018 school year to 196 by 2022-2023. This sharp contrast raises a glaring question: why are parents jumping ship to MCS? Is it due to perceived dips in MSD’s educational standards?
This potential issue compounds the need for urgent, decisive action. It’s high time MSD reevaluates not just its use of space but also the caliber of education it delivers. Closing underutilized schools like Russell is a fiscal imperative that can no longer wait. MSD must quickly pivot to address both resource allocation and educational standards, ensuring the community’s faith in the district is well-placed and securing a brighter future for the children educated there.
Courtney served 20 years as a nuclear engineering officer aboard submarines and 15 years as a graduate school instructor. A political independent, he spends his time playing with his eight grandchildren in Moscow.
