LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lynchburg City School Board continues to make little progress when it comes to deciding the direction for the future of school facilities.
Back in September, the school board voted to adopt a scenario that included redistricting closer to home - closing Sandusky Elementary, either closing T.C. Miller Elementary, or converting it to expand pre-K opportunities, along with some capital improvement projects.
Since the vote, parents have voiced their frustrations and the school board has not determined a clear path forward.
On Tuesday, the school board was supposed to vote on some direction, rather many of the topics fell short including the expansion of pre-K.
Several school board members didn’t want to vote because they wanted more information.
“There’s a lot of those decisions to be made and we can’t do it all at once. We’re trying to walk our way through it,” Vice-Chair Martin Day said.
Parents have continued to express their frustrations since the initial vote whether it be through a town hall, showing up to the city council, or even filing an official appeal.
Karla Jones has two kids who go to T.C. Miller Elementary. She and many other parents showed up to the school board work session on Tuesday.
“We’re now a month down the road and we still know nothing. We know nothing,” Jones said.
Tiersha Royal is the PTO President for Sandusky Elementary. Royal has made her voice heard every opportunity she gets.
“The children are the ones that are being tugged along through this process. They’re being told one minute their school is closing and the next minute they’re told they don’t know what they’re going to do. It’s hard on them,” Royal said.
The school board did ultimately vote to not close either school until at least 2025. The plan is to try and give more time for discussion and to look at potential options.
“It will give the system time and as Mr. Trost has said it creates the least disturbance for our kids,” Chair Atul Gupta said.
The next school board meeting will be on Nov. 14.