Columbia Elementary Families Hold Emergency Meeting To Discuss How To Save The School
Some plan on picketing at the Wenatchee School Board meeting this evening
Emotions were running high in the cafeteria of Columbia Elementary School in Wenatchee last night as more than 150 angry and bewildered parents demanded reasons for the Wenatchee School District’s decision to close the school at the end of the academic year.
“So if this does happen and all our kids get sent to different schools and then those schools get too full for our kids, they’re going to move our kids to another school again?” one woman asked.
Bridget Meyers choiced her daughter into Columbia, and has either worked at, volunteered or had a child attend every Wenatchee School District school except for Orchard. She said there’s really no place like Columbia in the district.
“I choiced my child in here because of the way that this community rallies together to make everybody able to learn at their own level,” she said. “And I feel strongly that no one would attempt to close any other school.”
Meyers said she has respect for Wenatchee School District Superintendent Kory Kalahar and the school board, but they should have done due diligence and followed proper procedures and allowed the community to process the idea and be a part of the decision.
When it was her time to speak, Meyers brought up RCW 28A.335.020, which outlines exactly how a public school district must proceed with closing a school. She pointed specifically to one portion of the law, which stipulates the public must have 90 days to weigh in before the final decision is made.
“The policy shall also include a requirement that during the ninety days before a school district's final decision upon any school closure, the school board of directors shall conduct hearings to receive testimony from the public on any issues related to the closure of any school for instructional purposes,” the law states.
The realization that families of Columbia students might still have a say in the decision seemed to breathe a sense of renewed energy and agency into the crowd. Folks started making plans to show up outside the Wenatchee School District office and picket before this evening’s school board meeting.
For Adriana Farnsworth, the decision to close Columbia is intensely personal. Her grandson attended the school as he battled childhood cancer, and she said the faculty and staff at Columbia made him feel comfortable and loved during some of the most painful moments of his young life.
I caught up with Adriana as she was on her way out of the meeting and we talked about what Columbia means to her and her family. You can listen to that interview here:
Columbia’s PTO president Carlos Ivan Chavez said he thinks the school is being targeted because it has a large number of poor students and their families don’t have the clout more affluent members of the community have. He said closing the school is going to be hard on a lot of kids, and it has already been hard for his daughter.
When he and his wife told her about the school closing on Friday she broke down in tears and didn’t want to come back this week.
“She didn't want to stay in school. She was at the gate, holding the gate not to come in because she was crying,” he said. “And then my wife just left crying, too.”
It was an emotionally exhausting day for the teachers of Columbia as well. They held an assembly at the beginning of the school day to make the announcement to the children, and more than one reported it was a tear-filled event.
The meeting wrapped up with families making plans to picket before the Wenatchee School Board meeting at the district office this evening at 6. Others got information on how to sign up to make comments during the public comments portion of the meeting.
I will attend the meeting this evening and file another story about what transpires afterward.
Adding Up The Costs
According to the OPSI website, the cost per student per school for the five Wenatchee School District elementary schools are as follows.
How much the district will save by closing Columbia is one of my biggest questions, and one I am asking the district.
Very concerned why this school in particular. I have seen elsewhere that per student costs are higher at Columbia compared to others. I really hope they look at other information. My kids went there and teachers were wonderful, staff knew you. This school serves neighborhood community, they know how to meet the needs of the students and families.
Please continue to report and follow the Columbia School story. It is an important part of the neighborhood and of the community it serves!