LANSING, MI (WLNS) – Red Cedar Elementary has been on the minds of a lot of East Lansing parents since the school board decided to reopen the school.
Many are upset about the plan and say other schools need the district’s help.
The East Lansing School Board will vote Monday night to rescind their proposal to reopen Red Cedar School. That’s according to a meeting agenda released online this afternoon. The school closed in 2014, and last December the school board voted to reopen it this year.
Julianna Filice-Hanna has three sons, two of whom go to Donley Elementary School.
She says Donley has limited resources and reopening Red Cedar this year is a bad move.
“The focus is shifting from the needs of our school and also the other elementary schools,” Filice-Hanna said.
Filice-Hanna is one of several parents in East Lansing fighting against the proposal since December — but they feel nothing has changed.
“It just is frustrating because we’re trying to – um – be supportive of our district, but we don’t feel like we’re being heard,” Filice-Hanna said.
Concerned parents started a petition on Change.org, urging the school board to reconsider their plans. Combined with in-person canvassing efforts, there are now more than 700 signatures.
Former school board member and Glencairn parent Jay Todd says that’s pretty substantial.
“700 signatures says stop, think about what you’re doing here,” Todd said.
Now it seems the school board has heard these concerns.
Monday’s school board meeting agenda includes a motion to rescind the December proposal.
And Todd says he’s hoping the school board votes in favor of the new motion.
“If they push this opening back to at least 2017, so that we can spend the time and energy to understand what we’re doing – that’s a good thing,” Todd said.
Some parents say the motion to rescind is not guaranteed to pass, but they are still hopeful that it will at Monday night’s school board meeting.