IMPERIAL — The long-debated decision over whether to close Westside Elementary School came to an end this week when school district officials opted to shift all 35 students to another school and shutter the small 101-year-old facility.
Following a fractious and often times confusing 3-2 vote, trustees of the Imperial Unified School District chose Thursday to end the school’s run by June 14, said Lisa Tabarez, school superintendent, on Friday.
Despite pleas from a couple of parents who spoke highly of the kindergarten to fifth-grade school, Tabarez said “the reorganization” would call for all of the students, most of whom live in the Ocotillo area, to be bused to T.L. Waggoner Elementary School in south Imperial.
The move is expected to save the district about $100,000, but Westside Elementary’s Principal Nancy Rood said Friday she remains confident that private donations can shore up enough funds to keep the school open for another year.
Tabarez said that appears unlikely as the school’s population has gotten smaller and the district is considering what to do with the school building that sits on West Vaughn Road.
It was initially reported that the trustees voted in opposition of shutting down Westside Elementary School as a prolonged — and inaudible — discussion over Trustee Abdul Mohammed’s initial motion to table the decision for further review bogged down into mass confusion over parliamentary procedure and how to properly follow it.
“It was just a mess,” said Rood of the trustees’ protracted exchange.
The issue over closing Westside is not a new one.
Rood said, “Hopefully it’s not over, but we’ll see.”
With regard to an interim budget report the trustees voted to accept, Tabarez said IUSD budgets are projected for “what possibly could happen.”
The presentation by Dawn Martin, director of business services for the district, showed that if a tax measure to bring in more education funding fails in November, the state budget contains another round of mid-year cuts that include $4.8 billion in reductions.
The result would be a projected cut of $370 per student or the equivalent of taking three weeks of instruction out of the school year for K-12 schools, Martin said.
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com
Following a fractious and often times confusing 3-2 vote, trustees of the Imperial Unified School District chose Thursday to end the school’s run by June 14, said Lisa Tabarez, school superintendent, on Friday.
Despite pleas from a couple of parents who spoke highly of the kindergarten to fifth-grade school, Tabarez said “the reorganization” would call for all of the students, most of whom live in the Ocotillo area, to be bused to T.L. Waggoner Elementary School in south Imperial.
The move is expected to save the district about $100,000, but Westside Elementary’s Principal Nancy Rood said Friday she remains confident that private donations can shore up enough funds to keep the school open for another year.
Tabarez said that appears unlikely as the school’s population has gotten smaller and the district is considering what to do with the school building that sits on West Vaughn Road.
It was initially reported that the trustees voted in opposition of shutting down Westside Elementary School as a prolonged — and inaudible — discussion over Trustee Abdul Mohammed’s initial motion to table the decision for further review bogged down into mass confusion over parliamentary procedure and how to properly follow it.
“It was just a mess,” said Rood of the trustees’ protracted exchange.
The issue over closing Westside is not a new one.
Rood said, “Hopefully it’s not over, but we’ll see.”
With regard to an interim budget report the trustees voted to accept, Tabarez said IUSD budgets are projected for “what possibly could happen.”
The presentation by Dawn Martin, director of business services for the district, showed that if a tax measure to bring in more education funding fails in November, the state budget contains another round of mid-year cuts that include $4.8 billion in reductions.
The result would be a projected cut of $370 per student or the equivalent of taking three weeks of instruction out of the school year for K-12 schools, Martin said.
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com
