BRUNSWICK

Those who don’t want to see Brunswick grade five students attend classes at Brunswick Junior High School next fall plan to state their case to the Brunswick School Board.

Opponents have a number of fears over the move, including safety, financial and academic concerns.

Christopher Watkinson said the school board made its decision in May 2014 with outdated information regarding enrollment at Harriet Beecher Stowe School.

Opponents say that the plan to move the entire 180-student HBS fifth grade is unwarranted because the “surplus” of students is estimated to be 77 during the next school year.

“While there’s still overcrowding, it’s not as severe as anticipated,” said Watkinson, a parent who ran unsuccessfully for the school board in November.

Under its current configuration, enrollment at Harriet Beecher Stowe School is expected to drop from the current level of 708 students to 670 by the 2017-18 school year, according to opponents.

However, Brunswick School Superintendent Paul Perzanoski said HBS was built to house only up to 600 students.

“I’ve listened to feedback since 2011, when the building opened,” Perzanoski said. “We had many complaints — some from the same people complaining about the fifth grade moving — that it’s too full, too overcrowded, causing problems with scheduling.”

By moving the fifth grade, school programming could be rearranged so that decadesold modular buildings housing classrooms at Coffin Elementary School are eliminated, said Perzanoski.

It may also mean there could be space in the school district for a state-funded preschool program, he said.

As of Friday, there were 338 signatures on a Change.org petition asking the school board to reverse its decision. That’s in addition to about 860 physical signatures gathered in November.

The online petition raises safety concerns about bullying at the junior high school, noting a case filed against the district by the Maine Human Rights Commission alleging that a former student was harassed to the point where he was forced to attend another school.

“Most disconcerting about this: The School Department insists they make efforts to curb such behavior. Despite these efforts, students continued to be victimized in the hallways and classrooms of BJHS,” the petition reads, in part.

Although not referencing the commission’s case, Perzanoski said some opponents were unfairly dragging Brunswick Junior High School through the mud.

“I think it’s great people are interested in the school department, but I would really like people to debate the issue in a civil manner without distorting information or tearing down another school to make their point,” Perzanoski said.

Perzanoski also noted that discussions with the school board over overcrowding began as far back as 2013, and garnered very little public input.

Opponents have not embraced a specific alternative to HBS’s overcrowding woes, but Watkinson said one may be forthcoming.

“We don’t object to some accommodation being made to overcrowding. We feel the school board is most qualified to decide on which particular plan to put into place, provided with the most current information possible. There are a variety of solutions (that are) feasible,” Watkinson said.

The school board meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Town Hall council chambers.