Larry Evans, the father of a T.T. Minor student, joined several hundred parents, students and teachers Sunday, Jan. 25 at a march and rally at the school to stop the school closures set to be finalized Jan. 29 by Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson. Larry Evans' daughter has already had to change schools once — she moved to T.T. Minor following the closure of Martin Luther King Elementary School in 2006.
Currently on the table are plans to close five schools, relocate eight programs and eliminate five programs, including the African American Academy, to cut $25 million from the Seattle School District budget.
A group called Educators, Students, & Parents for a better Vision of the Seattle schools (ESP VISION) is launching a last-ditch campaign to derail the closures. For more information go to http://soseattle.blogspot.com/.
ESP VISION is circulating a petition to present to school officials, which has already collected over 1,400 signatures. For more information go to
http://www.petitiononline.com/espvsn/petition.html
The group has also posted an analysis of their position that the closures will not save money, at
http://andrehelmstetter.com/pafp/preliminary_analysis_final_proposal.htm
For more information on the Seattle Public Schools downsizing proposal, called "Excellence for All – Strategic Plan," go to www.seattleschools.org.
