The priorities ahead

Gazette Editorial Board

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Nearly 1,800 residents' signatures on a petition. Testimonies from supporters ranging from Coe College administrators to Daybreak Rotary Club members to former students at Polk Elementary School. A host of 11th-hour pleas from parents and students.

The community input on behalf of keeping Polk open was extensive these past several weeks. But in the end, the Cedar Rapids school board voted Monday to follow Superintendent David Benson's recommendation to close the core neighborhood school. It was one of seven action pieces involving school closings and boundary changes based on studies of facilities use and enrollment trends.

Many Polk supporters were deeply disappointed. So were we.

The budget savings projected by closing Polk and re-purposing the building for some district programs housed in leased space didn't seem to justify the loss of this neighborhood school - a school with a high level of parent and community involvement, an impressive record of academic improvement and a sharp decline in student behavior problems.

All achieved in a school where 90 percent of the students are from low-income families, many with single parents, proving wrong the generally held notion that most students from such demographics can't or won't learn at a high level.

Nonetheless, the board has spoken. It's time to move ahead.

What should be the priorities as the physical changes are made? For the district, work on improving the educational experience for all students. Polk's culture can yield lessons. And yet it's not the only success story in the district.

Parents of students at Polk, as well as other schools to be closed, should get involved at whatever school their children wind up attending. Ask questions, provide support and input.

The school board and administration must drill deeper into the roots of the escalating net loss of students who open enroll to other districts. Until that issue is fully addressed, closing schools is only a Band-Aid on the larger problem.

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