10 Days Remain
Although Judge Egeler ruled the School Board’s actions illegal, and that the process to close schools must stop, the Board remains undeterred from deciding whether to close Madison and/or McKenny Elementary Schools.
This Thursday, April 18th, the School Board’s working session will reveal their directive to Superintendent Murphy on whether to include school closures in the budget they deliver later this summer.
Next Thursday, April 25th, the School Board could determine whether to close Madison and/or McKenny Elementary Schools.
For those in our community whose schools are not currently being considered for closure, it’s hard to understand the anxiety, frustration, sadness and anger that exists for the Madison and McKenny families and staff.
To be unsure, at such a late date, what your future holds, is unnerving. To know that the budget shortfall could so easily be fixed by putting a hiring freeze on all open positions at the Knox building, is beyond words.
These next 10 days will feel like an eternity for our community. Join us in showing up to support our community - no matter which school you are affiliated with currently, in the future or in the past.
Together, we’ve got this!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Show up and support in four ways this week.
Join OSD4ALL at the School Board working session this Thurs, 4/18, 6-8pm. Though we cannot comment, our presence matters. If you can’t join in person, join on zoom here.
Attend the “We Love All Schools” rally on 4/25, 4:30-6:30pm outside the Knox building. This is our time to gather as a community of parents, students and neighbors. Bring signs, or decorate one of ours, while we show the district just how important ALL our Olympia schools are.
Contribute to our celebration for staff and students of Madison and McKenny on Friday, 4/26. Regardless of the prior night’s board meeting outcome, these folks will need a little love the day after. We will be supplying breakfast for staff and goodie bags for all students. If you would like to make a donation, please Venmo @Tara-Wickham with “McMad Support” in the comment. Any donations in excess will be split evenly between the Madison and McKenny PTO’s.
Email the School Board members individually to let them know they can solve their current $380K shortfall and deliver a sustainable budget by enacting any of the solutions from the OSD4ALL solutions forum.
Hilary Seidel: hseidel@osd.wednet.edu
Scott Clifthorne: sclifthorne@osd.wednet.edu
Maria Flores: mflores@osd.wednet.edu
Jess Tourtellotte Palumbo: jtourtellottepalumbo@osd.wednet.edu
Darcy Huffman: dhuffman@osd.wednet.edu
Student Reps: osd-studentreps@osd.wednet.edu
Patrick Murphy: pmurphy@osd.wednet.edu
We remain hopeful for a positive outcome on April 25th and for years to come.
