Closing Hills school would make no sense

I appreciated the nice article Jennifer Hemmingsen wrote about Hills Elementary (May 11). The negative publicity the community and school have received has been unwarranted.

People look at the student population and wonder if we have enough students to be viable. In the 28 years that I have lived here, our numbers have always depended on how the district carved up the boundary lines. At one time, we had children from Sharon Center area, and those along the Sand Road. Then the district decided to send us low-income children, a large number of whom had learning disorders. Then they added a behavioral disorders classroom, which they filled with children from Iowa City.

Each time, our school reached out with open arms to support all the children sent to us. We have an excellent staff and have developed outreach programs for all the children. It really makes no sense to spend tons of money building new schools when the district has a functional school that is only a short drive from town, and the building is newer than several of the school buildings in operation in Iowa City.

Evelyn Endris

Hills?