Less than a minute after the Liverpool Central School District Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night March 15 to close Wetzel Road Elementary at the end of the current school year, Board President Patricia Mouton showed signs of fainting.
Mouton began to slump in her chair on the Liverpool High School Auditorium stage and was slightly responsive to her fellow board members who wanted to know if she was OK.
Emergency medical services from Northern Onondaga Volunteer Ambulance arrived on the scene shortly after Maureen Patterson, Assistant Superintendent for School Improvement, made the 9-1-1 call.
When NOVA arrived on scene bystanders were performing CPR on Mouton.
NOVA then transported Mouton to St. Joseph’s Hospital for a possible full arrest after a syncopal episode with seizure-like activity.
Moyers Corners Fire Department was also dispatched to the scene to assist NOVA.
No further reports on Mouton’s status has been released as of yet.
The meeting commenced at 7 p.m. with a live Web feed streaming to community members who could not attend. By 10:50 p.m. Board of Education member Donna Marsh O’Connor made a motion to close the school and “end the agony.”
“I have not heard any arguments that have persuaded us that we can’t the closing of a building,” O’Connor said.
Before the vote, Mouton added that the closure of one of the district’s buildings has been under discussion for about two years.
Board member Richard Pento said he didn’t want anyone to “overlook the impact” that a building closure would have on other buildings, with such matters as class size kept in mind.
Earlier in the night, Donald Cook, board member, made the motion to cease the possibility of implementing the high school academy program into the district for at least one year. With this delay, Cook said the district should avoid implementing the proposed academy model mid-year.
The motion was passed 5 - 4 among the Board of Education. With this vote, WRE will not be restructured into any of the district’s proposed academies next fall.
Cook emphasized the importance that it was not necessary for the district to “rush into anything,” if it was not to be the best effort possible.
“I don’t want to superimpose any short-term plans,” Cook said.
Because there is the budget to consider, Cook said he would like to have his “unanswered questions” taken care of before he can focus on a restructuring plan in the high school.
The next regular work session for the Board of Education is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 22 at the LCSD District Office.
