Pontiac School District vote on consolidation plan that could close three schools
Officials in the Pontiac School District voted on a controversial consolidation plan on Monday.
The board passed the plan, leaving many people frustrated. The plan would place three elementary schools in the district on the chopping block. The proposal has sparked backlash from the community.
"They don't care about anything but money. All they care about is the bottom line of how much money they claim they can save," said Pontiac resident Margo Walker-Daniels. "They say, 'Well, the schools are in this condition.' ... y'all been knowing these schools have been in this condition for years. Fix a school at a time. Don't close them down. That's just making it worse."
The school district's proposal is part of a consolidation plan aimed at addressing rising operational costs and declining enrollment. If the district approves the plan, Owen, Kennedy and Alcott schools would close over the next few years. The plan also includes restructuring grade levels for students.
"The issue is not consolidation. It's the way they're doing it. There has been no transparency," said Pontiac Education Association President Candice Ridley.
Ridley says one of the community's primary concerns is the impact this move would have on student stability.
"When you uproot and move them somewhere else, they gotta learn the new building, new teachers, new processes and procedures, new principals...it's a lot. When they do these types of moves, we lose even more students. It does not help us with our student population," Ridley said.
"I'm more concerned with Owen and Kennedy because those are handicapped kids. You're putting them into an environment they have never been in before and that's traumatic," said Walker-Daniels.
CBS News Detroit reached out to the Pontiac School District for comment ahead of Monday's meeting and expected vote, but did not hear back.
Meantime, Ridley is encouraging the public to make their voices heard.
"It's very important for the community to let the school district know what their thoughts are and how they feel about this," said Ridley. "We need to come up with a plan that's less disruptive to our students and families."
The school board meeting is scheduled to start on Monday at 6 p.m. at the O'Dell Nails Administration building in Pontiac.
