Even those advocating its closure likely would concede Westside Elementary School is a special place.
The Imperial Unified School District’s “country” school, which is several miles southwest of Seeley, has been educating kids from that part of the Valley, Ocotillo and from Imperial proper who wanted to attend a “country school” for 101 years. Westside is a lovely, bucolic place that has had special staffs for many decades as it has educated generation after generation of Westside Longhorns.
Now it appears Westside is going to close. The school board voted 3-2 last week during a contentious session to close the school, citing dwindling enrollment. Westside students will be sent to Imperial to attend T.L Waggoner Elementary School, according to the plan. That will be an arduous trip to and fro each school day for many of the former Westside students, particularly those from the Ocotillo area.
The board next will have to decide what to do with the Westside facility, according to reports.
It may appear Westside is dead, but this is a school that has been on life support a few times before and bounced back to not only life but vibrancy. Westside has many fans, including some well-heeled alumni and other supporters, which is evidenced each year by the tremendous turnout and piles of money raised by the school’s annual auction and barbecue.
The school’s longtime principal, Nancy Rood, is confident Westside will be kept open through private donations. The district superintendent, Lisa Tabarez, doesn’t believe that will happen, even with a proposed $1 million donation from Patterson Energy Group, which is building a wind energy project in Ocotillo. The company has said it would donate $50,000 a year in installments during the next 20 years to keep Westside open. District officials, though, think they could save $100,000 a year by closing the school.
We hope, through some miracle, the little country school that could is kept alive, but in a bad economy with school districts dealing annually with more austere budgets, Westside has been on borrowed time for many years.
If this special little country school closes, it will be a sad, sad day in the Imperial Valley’s history.
THE ISSUE:
Westside closing.
WE SAY:
A special place.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
The Imperial Unified School District’s “country” school, which is several miles southwest of Seeley, has been educating kids from that part of the Valley, Ocotillo and from Imperial proper who wanted to attend a “country school” for 101 years. Westside is a lovely, bucolic place that has had special staffs for many decades as it has educated generation after generation of Westside Longhorns.
The board next will have to decide what to do with the Westside facility, according to reports.
It may appear Westside is dead, but this is a school that has been on life support a few times before and bounced back to not only life but vibrancy. Westside has many fans, including some well-heeled alumni and other supporters, which is evidenced each year by the tremendous turnout and piles of money raised by the school’s annual auction and barbecue.
The school’s longtime principal, Nancy Rood, is confident Westside will be kept open through private donations. The district superintendent, Lisa Tabarez, doesn’t believe that will happen, even with a proposed $1 million donation from Patterson Energy Group, which is building a wind energy project in Ocotillo. The company has said it would donate $50,000 a year in installments during the next 20 years to keep Westside open. District officials, though, think they could save $100,000 a year by closing the school.
We hope, through some miracle, the little country school that could is kept alive, but in a bad economy with school districts dealing annually with more austere budgets, Westside has been on borrowed time for many years.
If this special little country school closes, it will be a sad, sad day in the Imperial Valley’s history.
THE ISSUE:
Westside closing.
WE SAY:
A special place.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
