LYNCHBURG, Va. – The fate of TC Miller Elementary School has now been decided. The school will be shut down and turned into a hub for 10 Pre-K classes after a 6-3 vote Tuesday evening.
Parents who attended the meeting left in tears and consoled each other outside of the School Administration Building.
As previously reported, in May of last year, Lynchburg City Council voted 5-2 in favor of keeping the school open for one more year and set aside $1.6 million to do so. The vote also kept Sandusky open as well. But after Tuesday’s vote, TC Miller will be shut down.
Pre-K classes currently housed at Paul Munro, Perrymont and R.S. Payne elementary schools will be relocated to T.C. Miller.
School advocates like Colleen Larkins of Save our Schools were stunned over the decision.
“One of the things that LCS does that is great is make your children feel like they are part of the family for where they go, so parents are shocked and upset about these changes and where these children will go next year.”
Parents are now left grappling with the decision over where they are going to send their children to school.
They were also upset over the loss of programs like T.C. Miller’s theatre program, which students will now be missing out on.
“I was blessed to have an additional year so that [my daughter] could be Cat in the Hat in Seussical [The Musical],” Beth Schrock said. “The fact that none of these other children will have that, it hurts my heart because it is such an amazing program.”
The vote pressed on despite parents and even some school board members questioning whether or not the public had given the proper communication and time before the vote was taken.
A decision many hope to avoid in the future.
“Take a pause before making this decision,” Larkins said. There hasn’t been a process for this decision and how to close down schools so that is something that is needed for the future.”