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Elk City residents urge guaranteed choice and fear school closure if deconsolidation proceeds
Summary
At a public hearing, multiple Elk City residents pressed the district for an explicit local vote and said they fear the community could lose its school if levies fail; speakers asked for a written guarantee that Elk City students can choose their receiving district.
Dozens of Elk City residents used the hearing to press the district for an explicit local vote and protections for their community school.
Sue Phillips (first named in public comment) told trustees she was “very disappointed” that Elk City had not been formally canvassed and asked that residents be allowed to decide where their children would be attached if the district splits: “I think the people need to be the people that decide,” she said. Several other commenters echoed that request, asking the board to provide a clear mechanism for Elk City residents to express a district preference rather than having the decision bundled into a larger-district vote.
Long-time educator and former principal Susie Borowitz (S12) asked the board to put the student-choice guarantee in writing: “I was really happy when Alicia said that they’re gonna get a choice of where to go, and I think that needs to be written in black and white,” she said, adding that the promise should be enforceable so students from Elk City retain their option in perpetuity.
Public commenters repeatedly cited the existential risk of losing the local school if levies fail, and several said that preserving an in-community school was their top priority even if trustee or financial arrangements change. Residents asked for more transparent outreach (mailers, in-person polling) to ensure ballots reflect the community’s wishes before a binding decision is forwarded to the State Board.
