Bronx students giddy after winning fight to keep their high school open
Preston High School students received a warm welcome Monday morning as they returned from spring break.
Monday was the first time students and staff were able to celebrate with each other since the announcement that their Bronx school would no longer be closing at the end of the school year.
The excitement was easy to see.
Students were greeted by teachers and staff members with music, bubbles and pom poms, all in celebration of their successful quest to keep the doors open for years to come.
"I was always stressed about finding a new school for my senior year, and I'm glad that I'll be able to stay here with my friends and graduate," junior Kylie Deenihan said.
"It's felt like two months of just such hard work has finally paid off," added teacher Eugenia Wolovich.
"We got our school back"
Cielo John, the president of the junior class, who was very vocal about saving the school, fought back tears while realizing the fight for the school's future is over.
"I've literally been thinking about this for, like, two and a half months. I just see it come through in my own eyes. It's like a feeling. I don't think I will ever feel again. We got our school back," John said.
The news also had parents bubbling over.
"I'm so happy. And the girls are extremely happy. They've been talking all week about it," Tamara Gayle said.
Why closure was a possibility
The school was saved from closing after state Attorney General Letitia James and her office assisted in an agreement between the Sisters of the Divine Compassion of the State of New York, which owned the Preston High School property since 1947.
A nonprofit organization called the Bally's Foundation of North America bought the property from the Sisters of Divine Compassion for $8.5 million and are leasing it for just $1 per year, for the next 25 years.
The agreement also provides the option to renew its lease in five-year intervals after 25 years.
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