Springfield Public Schools’ Robberson and Pershing Elementaries will close at the end of the current school year.
After hearing from parents and others asking them to keep their schools open, the Springfield Board of Education voted unanimously to close them.
Winston Grimes, who has four students at Robberson, said he is extremely disappointed in the board’s decision.
“They basically told my kids, ‘we don’t care how you’re succeeding. Because it didn’t work at other schools, we don’t care,’ “ he said.
Robberson Fifth Grade Teacher Sarah Lowe was emotional after the vote to close her school. She completed her student teaching at Robberson and has taught there for two years. She said what makes Robberson successful is its low student-to-teacher ratio.
"We can sit here and say that these kids want nice, new, shiny, brand new buildings, but when it comes down to it, they want connection," she said. "And, when you increase student population and decrease staffing and resources, you're lowering that connection."
Board members said the decision was a difficult one. Judy Brunner called it “gut-wrenching.” She assured parents and staff that the board had taken the assignment they'd been given "very, very seriously."
Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate said a lot of what she’s heard from parents has been “heartbreaking,” but it was a decision that had to be made.
“For me as a board member it’s my responsibility to take care of the financial needs of the schools," she said, "so if it were in my power, I would not close schools."
But, she said, while change is hard, change can be good.
Board Member Dr. Maryam Mohammadkhani said the district needs to be vigilant to be sure that transferring students maintain the success they had at Robberson. And she said the money they save by closing the school will have to be spent wisely.
“We cannot let Robberson become yet another high performing, high poverty school that goes by the wayside without making considerable gains on student success,” she said.
Pershing parents were equally as passionate about keeping their school open.
Parent Courtney Kelleher asked the board, “why would the correct choice be shutting down a full, thriving elementary school for little monetary gain while losing the benefits our middle and elementary kids receive?”
But Board Member Kelly Byrne said they need to focus on what’s best for the entire district when it comes to best utilizing the bond money voters approved in 2023.
“And it is clear to me that we can do – that the list is long of what we want to accomplish at Pershing,” he said, “and we can best accomplish that if we focus on it as a 6-8.”
The district will transfer Robberson students to the newly-built Boyd Elementary and Pershing students to Field and Wilder.
The decision to close the schools comes after a demographic study by Davis Demographics, which found that Robberson and Boyd elementary schools are both underutilized due to low enrollment, and enrollment is expected to continue to decline over the next 10 years.
The Springfield Public School District Community Task Force on Facilities had recommended the district look at changing Pershing from a K-8 to a 6-8 middle school.