Schools
School Board Looks at Maintaining K-8
Should the school board decide to close Moiola, parents and the school board are open to finding some way to keep the district's unique K-8 program.
During Thursday’s school board meeting, both parents and school board members looked at various alternatives to maintain some form of Moiola’s K-8 program should the school close.
Board member Jimmy Templin brought up a few of his own concerns plaguing him about the closure. “I have not made up my mind yet,” Templin told the board at the beginning of the meeting. “I have become an advocate of a smaller 6-8 setting”.
Templin told the board that he had personally spoken to 12 families in their homes about the school closure for at least an hour, sometimes two. “And I am happy that none of them has killed me,” he said.
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“I believe it is within your rights to postpone the closure of the school,” said Melissa Peterson, a Moiola mom, during the public comment section of the board meeting. “Can we keep the K-8 option elsewhere?”
One of the major arguments Moiola parents have made throughout the closure process is how special the K-8 option is for many parents. The K-8 option is a rarity in California; Moiola is just one of 671 schools throughout California that support K-8.
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“Many families like myself believe in the K-8 option,” said Julia Lynch, the parent representative on the district's School Boundaries and Closure Committee. “Other districts are creating K through 8s around us; we’re trendsetters. Our resource and special education programs are superb. Please consider the K through 8 options for the kids."
The school board will make its final decision regarding school closure at its next scheduled meeting on Dec. 8.
