PORT ANGELES — Monroe Elementary School parents say they will attend a public hearing Tuesday to voice their opinion that the school should not be closed.
Some parents are planning to carry picket signs opposing any school closure, while others just want their chance at the microphone to tell Port Angeles School District Board members that their children’s’ school should stay open.
The five-member board voted 4-1 on March 8 to begin the 90-day process to close Monroe to prevent a projected $300,000 deficit in the district’s 2004-05 budget.
Tuesday’s public hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Jefferson Elementary School’s gymnasium, 218 E. 12th St.
Monroe Parent-Teacher Organization President Patti Happe said Monroe parents and community members have been meeting informally almost weekly since the board proposed closing the school.
“There are still a lot of people who feel that for the amount of money that will be saved weighed against the impact to the children closing a school has, that it is not worth it,” Happe said.
Board President Charlie McClain said Friday the proposal to close Monroe school was a difficult, painful decision.
“It is not something the board wanted to do. It is something that we felt we had to do for the good of the entire district,” McClain said.