I have spoken with parents and teachers about the closure of Clover Valley. No one sees the logic of school closure as the solution to the school district’s years-long budget problems.

The cuts should come from administration, the very agency responsible for the errors. I see the decline in classroom numbers as all over the district and most likely caused by the institution of the “premier school,” Oak Harbor Elementary. Students were allowed to leave their local classroom and be bused to an additional facility. It added another school! It was a decision that cost the district classroom stability, but definitely stroked the egos of the administration.

Buying the Alaska Credit Union building for administration? Storing buses at the old administration facility? Again misguided, or manipulated, self-serving and benefiting administrators. Could we afford it? Obviously not! I believe they have been and continue to manipulate the books.

All of this is at the cost of stability and loss of one of the best schools and most dedicated teachers in Oak Harbor, specializing in the excellent care and instruction of all our special children. There ought to be a law against what has occurred here. Competent businesses and adults who administer them should not be allowed to punish children and their families to correct long overlooked mistakes. I’m a bookkeeper. If I continue to make errors year after year after year, I would be replaced.

The children are my main concern. Where is the outrage! Has no one written in? This situation is causing terrible stress on families. The shake-up will not be what the district expects. The student numbers will continue to go down as parents move out of district or choose to home school. It is the only avenue of quality control left for our families. This is not a prediction. I know families who are already in motion.

Janice Spatz

Oak Harbor