Tica Ortega, right, translates for Luz Moraila, middle, as Maria Gonzalez, left, listens and watches as zoning issues are discussed at a Thursday evening meeting about the possible closing of Cooke School.

Cooke parents say close another school

Bigger building, bigger savings, they note

Friday, April 29, 2005

By AMANDA WILLIAMS

of The Register-Mail

About 30 Cooke parents and community members met Thursday at the LULAC Council building to talk about ways to save Cooke from closing again. The school has been opened and closed twice since 1975.

Board members Mike Nelson and Mike Panther attended the parents' meeting but were not able to answer many of their questions.

Parents organized the meeting after administrators told them last week they plan to recommend the Board of Education close Cooke at the end of the 2004-2005 school year. The official recommendation will be made May 9. The board is not expected to vote on the matter until June.

Administrators cite declining enrollment and a deficit budget of $1.5 million to $2.2 million as reasons for the recommendation. Closing Cooke will save the district about $500,000.

Enrollment in the district is down 7 percent from 10 years ago. Since Cooke reopened in 1995 the district has lost 149 elementary students and a total of 332 students districtwide.

Nelson, a recently elected school board member, told parents he was just as shocked as they were last week to hear the district's recommendation to close Cooke.

"I think there's other ways to save money than by closing a school," Nelson said.

The biggest question most of the parents seem to have is why the district is closing Cooke School instead of one of the larger schools.

Emma Sargent, a Cooke grandparent, said she does not understand why the school district would want to close the smallest school when it could save more money by closing one of the larger schools.

"How are you going to save money by taking the little piece? You take the big piece," Sargent said.

She pointed to 1982 District 205 boundaries to show about 250 students who would go to Cooke according to those original boundaries are currently being bussed to Lincoln Elementary School.

But last week administrators told parents closing one of the other schools was not an option because those schools can hold more students than Cooke.

Parents say closing one of the larger schools in the district and sending the excess kids to Cooke would save more than the $500,000 the district anticipates saving by closing Cooke.

Panther said he was glad he had the opportunity to hear the Cooke School parents talk about how they feel about their school. He encouraged the parents to attend the special board meeting Wednesday at the school. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a closed session to talk about personnel; a discussion about Cooke School will follow. He said administrators plan to make a detailed presentation at the meeting to explain the district's financial situation.