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Parents pleading with Grosse Pointe Public Schools to reconsider closing 2 elementary schools

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Posted at 5:16 AM, Jan 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-28 06:13:19-05

GROSSE POINTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Parents of students going to Grosse Pointe Public Schools are pleading with the school to reconsider their plans to consolidate next school year.

Part of these plans include closing two elementary schools.

There are a number of concerns, and parents tell 7 Action News there has been a lack of transparency when it comes to the move.

Around a dozen parents and children protested the move Monday night, outside the planned school board meeting.

The plan is to close Poupard and Trombly Elementary Schools next school year and to move fifth graders into middle school – something parents we spoke to are against.

“We have to put all of our fifth graders in our middle schools, that means 200 extra kids in our middle schools, which they do not fit," said Ann Vanker, a Grosse Pointe Public Schools parent.

“The middle school is just not socially appropriate for a fifth grader, my son is, was shocked at the vaping posters in the hallway, for example, there’s just aspects of middle school that are not suitable for a 10- year-old," said Lauren Nowicki, Grosse Pointe Public Schools parent.

The district says the reason they want to consolidate is because of declining enrollment, stating they have seen about 100 fewer students each year for a few years now.

They say that adds up to about a million dollars less in state funding each year.

The school board voted to close that school back in June. These changes are coming up in the fall of 2020.