GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Public Schools parents and teachers weighed in on the district’s plan to close ten buildings and make other changes at a pair of meetings on Monday.
It marked the first opportunity for people to give feedback on the proposal, but in total, only five people gave their thoughts.
READ MORE: GRPS recommends closing 10 schools, click to find out which ones
“If you want a change, you have to speak up,” said Anna Johnson, a GRPS parent.
Johnson’s two children go to Brookside Elementary, one of the 10 schools slated to close under the plan. She says that concerns on how GRPS will execute their plan brought her out.
“I think it's great to have newer facilities and combined [facilities], but I worry that without the resources and a really solid plan around that, that the efforts will be in vain,” said Johnson.
Mikaila Workman, a special education teacher at East Leonard Elementary, wanted answers on where her students would go next year.
“My biggest concern is that I am not able to tell my special education students, at least my fourth graders, where they will go next year,” said Workman. “Their general education peers know that they have the options of Coit or Kent Hills.”
In an interview with FOX 17, Leon Hendrix, the executive director of communications and external affairs for the district, acknowledged GRPS still needs to establish the plan’s specifics.
“There certainly will be special ed offerings… at the two schools that the East Leonard kids transition to,” said Hendrix. “Exactly which classrooms will be available at which schools, that's still being worked out.”
According to Hendrix, details like that will not be known before the district’s board of education votes on the proposal next month. He calls that part of the process.
“It's not like on December 18 we're going to have everything we need to know about how this is going to work out over the next eight years locked in,” said Hendrix. “This will be an iterative process, it’ll be a constant conversation with our community. We'll be learning from this as we do our consolidations one year to the next and making sure that we're constantly reevaluating, ‘Is this meeting the needs of our scholars?’ and the answer to that question will dictate how we move forward.”
Hendrix noted the low turnout too, and says GRPS hopes to see more people at future meetings.
“We are monitoring how much we are getting here at these meetings is one forum, but we're also hearing feedback online and on social media,” said Hendrix. “We know that the word is still spreading and we're working as hard as we can to push that out.”
Other opportunities for the community to give feedback on the plan include:
- Nov. 27: All-virtual scholar & community feedback session, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom
- Nov. 28: Northeast side feedback session, City High Middle School Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 4: Board Meeting at Franklin Campus Auditorium, 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 5: Southeast side feedback session, Ottawa Hills High School Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Southwest side feedback session, Burton Middle School Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. (Spanish led meeting available)
- Dec 7: Northwest side feedback session, Union High School gym at 6:30 p.m.
