Stonington — The town would save up to $1 million a year by closing Pawcatuck Middle School and housing all middle school students at a renamed Mystic Middle School.

Meanwhile, the former Pawcatuck Middle School could function as the new home for school district administrators and as a community center.

These are some of the highlights of the just-released report by the Middle School Consolidation Committee, which plans to present its recommendations to the school board this fall with possible implementation for the 2018-19 school year.

First, the committee will hold a series of staff and public forums to get input on the possible consolidation. Pawcatuck teachers and staff will meet with the committee on the afternoon of Oct. 4, with their Mystic counterparts meeting the following day. There will be a community meeting at Pawcatuck Middle on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. and a meeting at Mystic Middle on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m.

The school board established the committee this spring because of a projected decline in enrollment, state aid cuts, the relocation of fifth grade from the middle schools to the elementary schools once the $67 million elementary school renovation and expansion is complete, and the desire to provide equal opportunities for students at both schools.

The report states that combining the two schools “may afford educational opportunities that are not possible with the current two-school configuration. The district strives to provide equal opportunities for all students at both schools, but that has been difficult due to the unequal populations and declining enrollments.”

In addition, the system has had difficulty providing “qualified teaching staff for small but important programs such as world language, music, arts, technology, and other electives.”

The report states consolidation would eliminate the need to hire part-time teachers in these areas or have teachers split time between the town schools, something it says has resulted in high staff turnover and lack of continuity with instruction. Having a full-time job in one school would make a teaching position more attractive to potential candidates, according to the committee.

The report states that with the decline in the number of students, offering a full array of opportunities in subjects such as art, music, drama, technology and vocational/shop classes is impossible with two schools.

“This has resulted in inequities between the schools and a lack of options for programs depending on the school,” the report states, adding that consolidation would solve this problem.

Consolidation also would allow for more innovative programming and elective courses in a variety of subjects, according to the report.

The report adds that projections estimate that the number of students in grades 6 through 8 will continue to decrease to between 400 and 440 over the next few years, with half in each school. But Pawcatuck has an official capacity of 380 and Mystic 525, with the ability to go to 625.

Due to the small amount of square footage in each Pawcatuck classroom, the committee says the new middle school would have to be located at Mystic Middle School.

The maximum predicted enrollment over the next 20 years is just 447, far less than Mystic’s capacity.

The report states that if the consolidation did occur, there would be a need for improvements such as additional air conditioning and parking at Mystic.

As for what would happen to the Pawcatuck building, the committee is considering several options and is looking for input from residents.

One of the options is to relocate the Central Office to Pawcatuck, provide space at Pawcatuck for alternative and special education programs and possibly use the fields, gym, library and other areas for a community center in conjunction with the Stonington Community Center or the town Recreation Department.

The town then could sell the current school administration building in Old Mystic, which has been valued at $800,000.

The report states that while there will be relocation and upgrade costs, it is estimated the schools system will save $800,000 to $1 million annually with the consolidation. The school system's annual budget is $37 million.

“With the pending financial reductions from the State of Connecticut to town and district budgets, these savings will help reduce the impacts to the taxpayers of Stonington for years to come,” the report states.

The committee said the school district is evaluating bus routes to make sure students would not be on the bus for long periods of time with a consolidation, the School-Based Health Center at Pawcatuck Middle could be relocated to Mystic and that the school board would rename Mystic Middle School.

Questions and comments about the consolidation can be e-mailed to msconsolidation@stoningtonschools.org.