FUSD Considers Closing South Beaver Elementary
Preface: This article was originally written for a Public Affairs class on February 16, 2010. Today, the FUSD announced they would be delaying closure of South Beaver Elementary along with three other schools by 60 days. But it's only postponing the inevitable and feeding the tension between parents and teachers and the administration. (See: this article from the Arizona Daily Sun.)
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FUSD Board members listen to parents, teachers and children voice their concers at the February 6th meeting about rezoning and school closures.
Historic South Beaver Elementary will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this summer, that is, if the Flagstaff Unified School District doesn’t close the school as a cost-cutting measure.
The FUSD school board held a series of community forums in late January and early February at schools across Flagstaff to ask the public for input on how to deal with budget cuts at the state level.
South Beaver Elementary hosted one of those meetings on February 6. Parents and board members worked under tightly-wound emotions as proposals for imminent school closures were presented. Parents were worried when it became apparent that most of the elementary closure plans included their school.
“It’s going to be a situation that’s tragic,” said Mike Cromer, a teacher at South Beaver since 1976. “It’s going to tear families apart. It’s going to displace children.”