LYNCHBURG, Va. – Taran Johnson and her family have a long history at T.C. Miller Elementary.
Her daughter went through all of elementary school there, and her son Kendall, is in second grade.
“My son was originally zoned for another school, but we were zoned here due to his school being at capacity. But I love T.C. Miller and I love the sense of community,” Johnson said.
She tells 10 News she was devastated when she heard T.C. Miller, along with Sandusky, would be closing next year. Her family experienced a traumatic car wreck earlier this year, and T.C. Miller was there for her and her son.
“I broke some bones and the school was there for counseling support for my son, and for anything we needed,” she said.
But Tuesday night, she found out that City Council plans to set aside $1.6 million to keep the two schools open for another year.
It was a 5-2 vote, with Councilmen Marty Misjuns and Jeff Helgeson voicing their concerns about putting the money aside.
“I can’t in good conscience vote to set aside $1.6 million into a reserve that we may not need,” Misjuns said.
But Councilwoman MaryJane Dolan said it’s worth it to keep parents and students happy.
“I think it gives a comfort level to all those parents and children to know we’re going to do what we said we were gonna do,” Dolan said.
Johnson says while she’s thrilled her son will get to stay at his school for another year, it’s just a band-aid solution.
“If we’re already having to zone out students, imagine what would happen if we closed the schools? I’d like to see them go back to the drawing board, maybe gather some data and see where they can make adjustments,” Johnson said.
The budget isn’t finalized quite yet, but council hopes to have it approved in the coming weeks.