Across the street: A coming move for 6th graders
By Daniel Arens
As term begins for the 2018-19 school year, in really just a few short months from now, 6th graders will get off the bus at its first stop, heading towards the Hazen Middle School building for their academic year.
It’s been a back-and-forth process of discussion in the district, but ultimately a decision has been made: 6th grade is being moved from the elementary building to the middle school. Actually, the decision is in some ways a reversion, since that was already the case six years ago.
The move comes as the school board and district continue to discuss the future look for Hazen schools. When faced with a potential budget shortfall of over $300,000, the district began considering ways to pinch a few pennies. Luckily, the number of retirements and resignations the school board has received and approved allowed the district to make staff reductions simply by not rehiring for some of the positions, without needing to consider letting any staff go.
