By Gretchen Millich, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-982199.mp3
East Lansing, MI – At a special meeting tonight, the East Lansing School Board could decide on a realignment plan for kindergarten through eighth grade school buildings. Two of the three options include closing neighborhood elementary schools. That's not sitting well with a very active group of parents and residents. Using Facebook, yard signs, and an electronic billboard, the group is calling for a rally before the meeting. They want to show their support for preserving all of East Lansing's neighborhood elementary schools.
Mindy Morgan lives in the Glencairn neighborhood in East Lansing. One of her kids will be starting kindergarten at Marble Elementary in September. Morgan knew for months that East Lansing was looking at ways to realign school buildings, but she wasn't paying close attention.
"All of a sudden, it appeared that there was going to be movement toward an actual decision," says Morgan. "And then people started saying that certain schools were definitely going to be slated to be closed, and it was at that point that I started looking around thinking I have a child who's starting at Marble in the fall. I need to know what's happening, and I need some answers."
Morgan asked some neighbors, who encouraged her to get involved.
"So I got started on Facebook," says Morgan. "And that was actually the big thing that started alerting me both to the meetings and also most importantly getting the information out. The various reports, different discussions. A lot of information that was out there, but wasn't really easy to find."
Like most school districts in Michigan, East Lansing must address diminishing revenue from the state. Superintendent David Chapin says that task is actually easier in East Lansing where residents care about their schools.
"We like that our community likes their neighborhood schools," says Chapin. "I think that's a reaction, a dynamic that's very affirming. And so I'm not overly concerned about that nor do I think the Board is. We know that there are some difficult decisions that have to be made, but we're in a community that likes their public schools. That's a pretty good setting to work in."
The board is looking at ways to save money and also upgrade aging school buildings. They have three options on the table. Two would involve closing elementary schools and combining schools for a more centralized system. The third called "Option C" would keep all the school buildings up and running, but would do little to reduce spending. Morgan and others are urging the Board to adopt Option C.
And so is Bob Fish. Fish is CEO of Biggby Coffee, headquartered in East Lansing. He says he and his wife moved here because it's a walkable community.
"And we live, work and play within blocks of where we live," says Fish. "We're not a garage door kind of family. When we understood that our school that is three blocks down the road might be closing, I mean it breaks our heart to know that that would happen."
All of the options the school board is considering would require extending the current millage, which the board may ask voters to do next year. Fish says he'd like to see upgrades and technology improvements, but he'll oppose the millage if it includes the closing of any elementary school
"And I have to say any elementary school, because I don't want neighborhood to be fighting neighborhood," says Fish. "I mean I don't want Lord of the Flies for which and whose school is going to get closed. I think that's really an ugly circumstance."
That's pretty much how everyone feels in this loose-knit group of activists, and they've been successful in raising awareness. Yard signs are up everywhere, reading "Save Our Neighborhood Schools," and the group raised money through Facebook to put up a billboard on Saginaw Road.
"We went from hearing rumors that the Board doesn't think Glencairn and Bailey and Chesterfield Hills care, to getting a billboard in the middle of East Lansing," says Mindy Morgan. "It's like, yes, we do care, and in a real short time, a very, very visible sign of that, which I think was really, really exciting."