Proposed closing of Synergy High School to be reviewed

Woodland School, a K-12 school for students with special needs, would house the Synergy program under the proposed plan. Synergy is scheduled to be closed because of a school budget shortfall. Photo by Frances Taylor.

The East Hartford Board of Education’s plan to close Synergy Alternative High School in an effort to close a budget gap will be reviewed by the Town Council in an upcoming meeting Feb. 15. The board's decision has provoked an outcry among Synergy students, faculty and alumni. Many who attended a recent board meeting said they would fight the proposed closing. The board's plan would also close the East Hartford Head Start program.

Jeffrey Currey, the board chairman, said the decision to close Synergy came strictly as a result of the $7 million budget shortfall. “Seven million dollars is a significant differential – there is no way we can put that on the backs of East Hartford taxpayers,” he said.

Students who are experiencing social and behavioral challenges can apply to Synergy Alternative High School through the guidance program at East Hartford High. The school offers smaller class sizes and a faculty that specializes in teaching at-risk youth. Many students who attend Synergy continue to participate in sports and other after-school activities at East Hartford High School.

The school was founded in the 1980s, and is housed in the former Stevens School building on Butternut Drive. Many alumni of the school came to the board meeting to talk about what their Synergy experience meant to their development, and implored the board not to close the school. Several students who became pregnant during their teenage years told the board that they found support and refuge at Synergy High School and graduated on time with their class.

Under the board's plan, which Currey said was developed with input from Synergy Principal John Karzar and Superintendent Mark Zito, a newly-structured program would move to Woodland School, a K-12 school on Long Hill Road for students with special needs.
“The program at Synergy would no longer exist,” Currey said, adding that the contributions of the principal and superintendent assured him that a quality program could be maintained, despite the loss of the current program structure and building.

“In the last four years, there have been no tax increases for the Board of Ed., and we have come to a point where we cannot maintain current programs without additional funding. As a result, certain programs ultimately have to be cut,” Currey said.

At this point, the educational plan for Synergy is a general outline that will be worked on during the next few months. “There are not many specifics to it right now, but we have enough to get the ball rolling,” said Curry. Synergy would close at the end of the 2012 school year.

Despite the fears of students and alumni of Synergy, Currey said the board would not let its students down. “Our policy is that everyone should graduate, and we have an obligation to all of our students. We are not going to fail them,” he said.