Hundreds pack Castro meeting Hundreds pack Castro meeting (March 18, 2005)

Board to decide whether to close school

By Julie O'Shea

Emotions were running high at last week's Mountain View-Whisman community forum where parents, teacher and students pleaded for hours to keep Castro Elementary from the chopping block.

The March 10 meeting was the first chance the public had to respond to the proposed school-closure plan that would shutter the Escuela Avenue campus by the end of June and move the school's controversial English-Spanish immersion program to Landels Elementary.

Hundreds packed into Castro School's tiny multipurpose room to hear more than three hours of public testimony on the closure proposal. The standing-room-only crowd was so fired up that several screaming matches ensued between the audience and the board. At one point, board President Ellen Wheeler called a five-minute break and told attendees that if they didn't settle down, they'd be escorted out of the meeting.

At the podium, some speakers complained that if Castro closed, they would have a hard time getting their children to school in the morning. The campus is surrounded by low-rent apartment complexes, and many parents walk their children to school because they don't own cars.

Others said that they still didn't see why the district needs to close a school. District officials have repeatedly stated that declining enrollment and revenue is forcing them to make this move. Closing a campus is the only way they will be able to balance next year's budget, they have said.

District officials were hoping to rent out whichever school is chosen to be closed. The rent could bolster the budget by $400,000. But the school-closure decision has dragged on for months now, and finance chief Rebecca Wright said she won't be able to factor a lease into the budget forecast.

"Change is not easy. You need to bring an entire district along with you -- not just one school, not just one set of parents," said parent James Morales. "Communication and leadership are required. Leadership in this case doesn't mean striking out on your own."

But most of the speakers at last week's forum said that if the school district closes Castro, it will be devastating to the neighborhood, which sees the school as its community center.

"The school board has a very, very difficult decision, and I feel sorry for you. You're putting yourself out there," Anita Brown, a kindergarten teacher at Monta Loma, told the board. "I would like you to close a school. I know that is not popular ... (but) please don't close Castro School. It is the heart and soul of this community. It will be traumatic if you close it."

Linda Yung, a first-grade teacher at Castro, told trustees her classroom was like one big family, that she has a connection with both students and their parents. If Castro were to close, Yung said, this special connection would be lost.

"Please don't take away from the community the ability to advocate for their children," Yung said.

The school board will hear public testimony again this week and is scheduled to vote on the plan to close Castro on March 22.
E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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