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Parents and students urge board to keep Bolton and other small schools open
Summary
Dozens of parents, students and community members told the West Linn-Wilsonville SD 3J board that closing small primary schools would fracture neighborhoods, raise busing costs and remove supports for neurodivergent students; speakers urged alternatives including boundary changes and fundraising.
Dozens of parents, children and local groups appealed to the West Linn-Wilsonville School District board to halt plans that could close small neighborhood primary schools, saying closures would harm students and neighborhoods.
“Please do not close Bolton,” said Aria Graham, a Bolton Primary student, adding that teachers and classmates there form a close-knit community. Parents and other speakers told the board that Bolton’s small size and staff supports are central to learning and social stability for students with diverse needs. Sarah Metland, a parent of two Bolton children, said teachers provided one-on-one accommodations that kept her child in public school.
Community members argued the budget savings from closing a school — cited in staff materials as roughly $1,450,000 over 10 years for a school-level savings — are small relative to the district’s roughly $15,000,000 shortfall and do not justify the community disruption. “That number, if a school were to be closed, would be a direct savings to the school level, not the district level,” staff told the board in response to questions, a distinction commenters highlighted.
Speakers urged the board to consider alternatives, including redrawing attendance boundaries, expanding preschool and dual-language offerings to boost enrollment, deeper communications to attract families, and pursuing legislative advocacy and community fundraising rather than permanent school closures. The board heard repeated requests for more time and community engagement before making irreversible decisions.
The board voted unanimously to postpone consolidating any of the three small primary schools for the 2025–26 school year, saying members were persuaded by the volume of community testimony and the need for more exploration of alternatives.
