Wenatchee School Board Votes To Close Columbia Elementary School
After four months of intense community pressure to keep the school open, the board vote to close it was unanimous
The Wenatchee School Board Tuesday night unanimously voted to close Columbia Elementary School in the 2024-2025 school year.
Before the decision was made members of the public who signed up to speak were given three minutes each to share their thoughts.
Micaela Salgado, a Columbia employee who will lose her job due to the closure, pushed back on what she perceived as the board complaining about Columbia supporters attempting to “guilt trip” the board for closing a school with a high number of poor and minority students.
“I would rather lose my job and have these kids at Columbia,” she said. “I would like to say that in no way am I or anyone who speaks out about closing Columbia and its impacts on marginalized communities trying to guilt you.”
You can watch Salgado’s remarks here:
Former Columbia teacher and author Jamie Johnson also addressed complaints about public pressure. She said any guilt felt by board members is simply their moral compasses functioning as they should when considering closing a school that serves a high number of individuals who belong to marginalized communities.
“By definition marginalized communities exist within systems that consistently fail to meet their needs, burdening them disproportionately, sacrificing their wellbeing for the privileged majority,” she said. “Overcrowding our most vulnerable schools is one glaring example of marginalization that demands our attention.”
Regardless of how they feel, feelings don’t matter, she said. It’s what they choose to do that matters.
“Intent does not negate impact,” Johnson said.
After about an hour of public comments, Superintedent Kory Kalahar explained why district administrators proposed the plan to close Columbia and board member Martin Barron moved to close Columbia this year. The motion was seconded by Tucker Jackson, and then each board member took some time to explain why they were voting in favor of closing Columbia.
Barron spoke first and thanked every member of the public who had taken the time to show up and weigh in, or contact them online, for their input.
“Like many decisions, this one has both logic aspects and human aspects. Both must be considered. Neither can stand alone,” he said.
He acknowledged the decision was not easy, but the decision to close Columbia is the best thing for the district in the long term.
“Living within our means is a shared accountability,” Barron said. “Managing budget expenditures becomes a search for reasonable choices. No individual is entitled to exactly what they prefer.”
When it was Board President Julie Norton’s time to speak she said that she understood that this was a difficult and emotional decision to make but expressed disappointment at what she perceived to be less than respectful responses from Columbia staff toward other school district staff members who have shown support for consolidating the elementary schools.
She said that she hopes that if the district ever has to have difficult discussions like this one in the future, district staff members will show each other more decorum.
“We share your emotion. We share your pain. We know what you’re going through,” she said. “I realize change is hard, but in the end it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.”
After the meeting, Columbia staff member Ann Young said she was “heartbroken” by the decision. Others said they feel like there was never any real consideration of any alternative other than closing Columbia, and they weren’t listened to by district administration or the board.
“All I can say is that I’m very disappointed that the school board wasn’t more critical of the information presented to them by the district,” Columbia educator Aaron Gahringer said. “The speeches the school board members gave tonight proved to me that there wasn’t enough critical thinking about what they were being presented with. It’s unfortunate that this system didn’t work to protect some of our most vulnerable students.”
Johnson said the community has a right to be frustrated, especially since it didn’t even seem like Board President Norton registered when she was wrong after being corrected on seemingly important details.
“Julie claimed that the board has listened to community concerns and proceeded to erroneously label Columbia as ‘the smallest school.’ However, both community members and district data have consistently highlighted that Columbia is not the smallest school,” she said. “The community's frustration with feeling unheard makes sense when crucial facts like these are disregarded throughout the 3-month series of meetings. I am troubled by the possibility that clinging to additional oversights might have influenced the decision-making process.”
Dorothy Ferguson with the Columbia Parents Advocacy Group and a grandmother of Columbia students spoke at the meeting, and afterward sent Sup. Kalahar the following email:
“This evening you voted to close Columbia Elementary School. What is your plan, for tomorrow, to provide mental health services for students, teachers and parents? Your decision to close Columbia is being experienced as a death for some Columbia students and parents. Their anxieties and fears about their future are unavoidable. No matter how positive their parents are in telling 4 to 11-year-olds that their school is closing,” she wrote. “You all voiced your empathy for students and parents for their loss. What is your plan for tomorrow morning to provide crisis counseling services to students , parents and staff? Parents request a response.”
District administrators have not stated what they plan to do with Columbia and the property it is on after they close the school.
I like what Jamie Johnson said. What an articulate person. And correct, in my opinion.