Rosebush Elementary School closing disheartening, but not terrible
Closing any school in any community is a travesty.
Everyone in that community should be upset when schools are forced to close.
It usually means students can receive less attention from teachers, which can hinder the learning process.
That’s why when I heard Rosebush Elementary School was being closed by the Mount Pleasant School Board, I felt horrible for students and parents in that community that will lose their school.
But it could have been worse.
Mount Pleasant school district residents: be thankful only one school is closing.
It could have been more.
Several districts across Michigan have already done this.
For example, since I began 1st grade in 1993, my home district, Royal Oak Public Schools, has closed seven elementary schools, two middle schools and consolidated both high schools and renamed it.
In other words, in 14 years, Royal Oak closed more than 55 percent of its public schools.
Growing up, all my parents did was fear more schools closing, and they did.
All three schools I attended are either demolished or have been converted to another type of school.
Throughout high school, we heard, “How are we going to consolidate Dondero and Kimball (the high schools in Royal Oak) after 2006?” all the time.
It’s a feeling I remember vividly, especially when decisions with the high schools came up.
Now that I’m older, I can understand more of why it was done, but was still an unpleasant experience, especially for students.
Granted, I do not live in Rosebush and do not know the culture surrounding the elementary school that’s closing.
But Mount Pleasant School District residents need to take a step back and see the overall picture.
Mount Pleasant is losing one school out of six.
Compare that to Detroit, which will most likely lose more than 25 percent of its schools this summer.
In the big picture, as terrible as it is, one school closing is the probably least that could have been done.
Unfortunately, school closings are becoming the norm in Michigan education.
State politics seem to dictate that education — both primary and secondary — is something that can be put on the back burner (see: Michigan Promise Scholarship).
Parents and residents should call for decreases in pay for executives. Like the saying goes, “you cut from the top.”
Many districts aren’t doing enough of this and are choosing to take out budget cuts on students and teachers.
Being in charge means you take the brunt of the impact, not the people you are supposed to be protecting and educating. Just because education can provide very little revenue and has high expenditures, doesn’t mean it’s worthless.
Without a well-educated student base, Michigan business will decrease and fall farther.
But some people just don’t realize that.
