What do you think of the East Knox School Board possibly closing the Bladensburg school building?

Community shows support for school

Brian Miller, left, and Matt Schwartz listen as Bladensburg residents ask questions and voice their concerns over whether or not the East Knox School District should close the elementary school in Bladensburg.

Brian Miller, left, and Matt Schwartz listen as Bladensburg residents ask questions and voice their concerns over whether or not the East Knox School District should close the elementary school in Bladensburg.

Buy Photo | Photo by Samantha Scoles

BLADENSBURG — The temperature wasn’t the only thing running hot in Bladensburg as community members gathered at the East Knox Elementary School on Wednesday night to vent their frustrations and seek answers as to why the board feels the need to close the community’s only school.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, June 11th, 2011 at 12:47 amand is filed under story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  • jal65

    I doubt if the state chooses to take over if they will leave the school open. You can complain all you want, but if you don’t pass the levy, I would guess, the school will be closed anyway…. It’s up to you.

  • cowlick

    .  Anyone who thinks that teachers are overpaid are not very well imformed.  Who besides parents (and those are lacking in a lot of cases)  have more influence on a childs life than a teacher?  If you went to college and paid big bucks, had student loans that take 10 years to pay back, are you really going into the teaching profession for the money?  I think not, teachers choose to be teachers because they care about kids.  Your kids.  I know it is has been run in the ground but  “someone paid for our education and now it is our turn to  pay” .  People can say all they want, and they can always find a reason for voting no, but most do not have a clue how a school system is run, or State mandated.  I agree the economy is very bad and people are struggling to keep their homes.  We are taxed to death, school tax is one of the few taxes we get to vote on so people rebel and vote no, THEN complain because measures have to be taken to stay within a budget.  Our kids are our future and we owe them the best education we can give them and if that steps on some toes, then suck it up and help change things.

  • http://twitter.com/MariStewart03 Mary Stewart

    If you want to know exactly what any school district employee makes just go to http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org.  Put in the teachers/employees last name and the school district and it will show you exactly what they make and, more importantly, their pension.  I think you will be simply amazed at what they make for 184 days of work per year!

  • RandyMMSavage

    I understand that people care about the kids and don’t want the building to close.  However, if you truly care about the kids and want Bladensburg open, then pass a levy.  People want teachers to suffer and take a pay cut.  If a levy passes, the teachers pay as much as everyone else.  It’s a team effort.  People keep saying if Bladensburg closes then they aren’t voting for a levy.  The reason Bladensburg would close would be because people aren’t voting for a levy.  Hello!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/At-Red/100000035016438 At Red

    I think that they need to close the school! Has anyone been by this school??? It is run down and totally ghetto! Lets just say that the levy passed, what would that money go to? The teachers pension. Really? They would not reinstate the cuts that they had made. This is what they need to do. I live in the EK school district and open enroll my children at Mt Vernon because I refuse to send my children to that run down Bladensburg school. I chose to drive them 20 minutes one way every day just to keep them from going to that school.
     
    DO US ALL A FAVOR, CLOSE THE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_A4GNC25O3VJANL4G7EJJHFIFNU Renotta Oliver

    Well I think they should close Bladensburg school and add on to the middle school to accomidate k-4. The school is a money pit and will continue to be a money pit. They can take the children from Martinsburg and bus them to Utica. Then take and give pay cuts to the superintendent and keep coming down with the cuts. Do we really need assistants for assistants? Stop waisting our money by throwing out things from the end of the year that could be used the following year. And WHY did we go all out for the new middle school, maybe we should do like the amish community and build schools like they do. Do we really need something so elaberate? No we do not. Spend money wisely and we will have money. We all are in bad shape with the way the economy is and who knows if it will ever get back to what it once was.
    RLO

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1330094839 Miriam StJean

    You guys voted “no” on the levy.  Votes have consequences.

    Deal with it.

  • http://twitter.com/sfoster2002 Shane Foster

    Why in the world would you not look at this as an option?  If you do not like what the school board is doing, then get off of your butt and run for the school board.  My child does not go to EK, but I vote for every levy.  Education is the future!  If the education is bad, then property values also go down, new families do not want to move into the area.  To be completely honest, is EK even big enough to have its own district?  Maybe EK and Danville should talk about options together.  Why not speak to Utica as well as the previous poster mentioned.  It makes no sense to not look at every option.  Think about it in your own personal life.  If you need to cut back, and you’re not getting the raise you keep asking your boss for (levy), then you will look at all of your options too.

  • debbyied

    When will school districts learn that treating voters like idiots is not working? We are so done with the “It’s for the children” dribble. The only thing levies are about is wages and benefits. When cuts have to be made, it is NEVER from the top down. If it really was “about the children” that’s the way it would really be. What does a child need most, a teacher or a superintendent, treasurer and numerous assistants to the assistants? There is plenty that could be cut and never affect the kids. They want to hurt the kids and their parents to make them vote for levies they cannot afford.I have yet to see any local superintendent offer up a pay cut or a reduction in benefits. People have lost their homes & jobs, yet the schools expect you to gave them anything you may have left. I’m surprised they haven’t suggested selling our bodily fluids or organs to fund their excessive & wasteful spending. Enough is enough!

    • drhobbs

      its just on way to get you idiots to vote yes in Nov….

  • Teezz

    I think they should have thought it through BEFORE they put sooooo much money into the Middle School with all the unnecessary things and all the cosmetics they put into to it, when the High School was in much need of some of that money. Bad choices on the East Knox School District. I think its sad that the Middle School was built to seperate the  overcrowdedness at the High School and now they are going to do exactly what they set out NOT to do. Thats not fair to any of our children that attend, It’s not their fault they didn’t have a choice or got to make any decisions in this whole thing. Isn’t it all about the kids????

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Evan-Brown/100001002870908 Evan Brown

    when i went to school at east knox many people said apple valley idiots would try and do that.well guess what leave the school open and cut back on the boards pay and leave the school open.its funny taxes keep goin up but asoon as a levy dont pass were goin to shut down stuff.the economy sucks .so this goes out to you board suck it up and shut it up!!!!!!!!!!!11

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Aaron-Young/100001495243531 Aaron Young

    I hate to say this but it dosent sound like a bad idea to me honestly.  I mean look at where the bulk of the kids in this district are…Apple Valley which is close to Howard.  Granted there are a lot of familys in the Bladensburg and Martinsburg area still the majority are in the Howard area.  I think they should close the school in Bladensburg and use the savings to add onto the middle school and house the elementary kids there.  Maybe even let some of the kids in the Martinsburg area go to Utica so the East Knox buses dont have to go so far.

  • concern4thekids

    Craziness…that is the dumbest thing I have heard yet. Close a school that houses 4 grades, put them into a school that already is FULL with 3 grades and try to figure out what to do with them now..I thought the idea of new school few years ago was to better our children, keep the young adults in 7/8 grade away from 9/10 grades and give all of them some space and better opportunity. This district has alot more than financial problems, it has a problem with the administration running it…they cant do it right…maybe thats what needs to change… If that elementary school closes…EK will never get a dime of my money nor will I EVER VOTE YES for another levy…

  • cowlick

    I think they should close it.  Think of the money that will be saved not running three buildings, paying three principals, three janitoral staffs, etc.  I am an advocate for education and I hate to see anyone loose a job but this school has been in peril since the 60′s when the community failed to vote on any levies and lost their charter.  These are hard times and hard times call for hard decisions and you will NEVER make everyone happy.  For once, everyone needs to come together and do what is best for the students who are the future of our country.  Maybe one day, one of them will have the answers so don’t you think we owe it to them to give them that chance?