Save CR Heritage launches petition to add closure of Garfield Elementary to school board agenda

CEDAR RAPIDS — Save CR Heritage, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving historic properties, launched a petition drive this month for the closure of Garfield Elementary School to be put on a Cedar Rapids school board meeting agenda.

Under a new Iowa law, residents can bring an agenda item to a school board with signatures of 500 district voters. If enough signatures are gathered by the end of the month, the closure would be placed on the May 9 school board meeting agenda.

Last month, the Cedar Rapids school board approved the next step in the district’s facilities master plan. A new elementary school will be built and open in fall 2024 on the annex of Arthur Elementary School, 2630 B Ave. NE.

The existing Arthur Elementary building and Garfield Elementary School, 1201 Maplewood Dr. NE, will be closed. The schools’ attendance areas will be combined.

Arthur and Garfield, which both opened in 1915, are among the oldest buildings in the district. While the buildings will not be demolished, there are no plans for how they will be repurposed.

“A decision as far-reaching as closing a neighborhood school affects the entire city,” Save CR Heritage board President Nikki Halvorson said in a news release. “Residents at least deserve a chance for their voices to be heard, which is what this petition is about.”

The agenda item posted in advance of the March 28 board meeting did not stipulate which schools were being considered for new buildings or closure, and supporting documents were added the day of the meeting — giving the public little time to respond, according to a news release from Save CR Heritage.

The petition will be available to sign:

Supporters, including the Grant Wood Advocacy Committee, also will canvass neighborhoods for signatures.

The Grant Wood Advocacy Committee seeks to prevent Grant Wood Elementary from closing, and advocates for more transparency and “authentic” community input regarding school closures, said Leigh Ann Erickson, parent to three sons who attend Grant Wood and member of the Grant Wood Advocacy Committee.

Erickson spoke during public comment at the March 28 school board meeting, asking that Grant Wood remain open.

“Closing community schools is hard for students, and disproportionately hard for students of color and students living in households with lower socioeconomic status,” Erickson said. “Moving students … means many students lose their ability to walk to school. We must also acknowledge that the new school site is in a part of town that is predominantly white and wealthier than where Grant Wood currently sits.”

Current and former members of the facilities master plan committee are frustrated by the process, Erickson said.

“They feel they are being told what is happening and not actually participating in the process,” she said. “Several community members we spoke to said they stopped attending committee meetings because it was clear that (the district) was going to move forward with the plan and their input was not valued.”

While Erickson doesn’t want to see Grant Wood close, she acknowledged improvements are needed, including making the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Last month, Cedar Rapids elementary schools were added to the 2022 most endangered properties list by Preservation Iowa, which draws attention to risks to historic properties and advocates for preservation.

Save CR Heritage board member Cindy Hadish nominated the schools for the list. Hadish also serves on the Cedar Rapids schools’ facilities master plan task force.

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