WESTMINSTER WEST — An open letter to Westminster School parents, and community members:
At an Oct. 14 meeting, the Westminster School Board announced the closing of the Westminster West Elementary School.
We, a group of concerned parents and community members, believe that this is not in the best interest of our Westminster students, families or its taxpayers. We, therefore, want to reach out and make ourselves clear to all people of Westminster as our attempts to help our schools and town take shape.
• Our decision to more fully examine the benefits of the Westminster West School is aimed at benefiting all Westminster families, those with children currently attending the West School and Center School and families interested in maintaining Westminster as a vital and affordable community.
• There are no substantial budgetary benefits to closing the Westminster West School. If organized correctly, the Westminster West School can continue to offer a quality education at a lower cost per student than if West School students are consolidated into the Center School. Additionally, Westminster West School has performed well for the district in terms of students' standardized scores.
• The Westminster West School is open and available to all Westminster families. Because of size and history of multi-age education, it provides an important educational choice within our public, educational system available to all families regardless of their financial means.
• Evidence shows that student population ebbs and flows over the years and across grades. The Westminster West School protects Center School classrooms from being overcrowded and ensures that classes such as Art and Music and other activities can have dedicated rooms to work in.
• Together, our two schools comprise one healthy and diverse school program, which attracts next generations and new families, increasing population, vitality and broadening the tax base.
We respectfully request that the school board and supervisory administration participate in open dialogue with the townspeople so that we can collectively and creatively arrive at a common understanding.
We believe that community members and current parents represent a very hard-working, diverse and creative resource that is available to help the board solve the complex problems our Westminster Schools are currently facing using an open, trustful dialogue process.