Boise School District wants to close this school. Parents call communication ‘deceptive’

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Libby Johns opened her email April 18 to find a message from the principal at Owyhee Elementary, where her children attend, telling her that the school would close in a year. After “careful consideration and planning,” the email read, the Boise elementary school “will be converted” into an early childhood learning center beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

A day later, the district sent out similar communication. “Owyhee’s planned conversion is the next step in the district’s plan to more fully support the specific needs of early learners,” the district’s news release read.

Johns was shocked and upset. She hadn’t heard any mention that the school would be closing beforehand. She loves the small neighborhood school and the tight-knit community it fosters, and she felt parents weren’t included in a decision that would have a significant impact on their kids.

But soon after, she learned a final decision hadn’t been made. The Boise School District and board will discuss possible boundary changes that could direct Owyhee students to other neighboring schools. But the process could take months, and the school board would have to vote on any changes before they take effect.

“For us to really meet the needs of our pre-K kids, we’re going to have to adopt a center approach versus what we have been implementing,” district spokesperson Ryan Hill told the Idaho Statesman. “But there will be a number of steps between now and really winter, early spring of 2025, that will take place before it becomes final.”

On Tuesday night, district officials fielded questions and concerns from dozens of parents and community members who called the district’s communications “deceptive” and pleaded with them to look at other options that would keep Owyhee open.

During the meeting, which was organized by the district to discuss the possible changes, parents said their children who had previously struggled at big schools thrived at Owyhee, which serves about 150 students. They praised the teachers and staff at the school and proposed other ways the district could accommodate early learners.

At times, the meeting got tense, with parents pressing the district about why the communication made it seem like the closure was a done deal and asking whether the administration considered how difficult it would be for their kids to have to transfer to a different school. One attendee held a sign that read, “Save our Bench school.”

“Neighborhood schools are important,” Johns told the Idaho Statesman. “Many feel that our kids will get a better education at a smaller school.”

District leaders said their intention was never to not be transparent, and that parents are welcome to provide feedback, all of which the board will consider.

“The seven board members are their own people. We can make the proposal about what we think is best in terms of taking care of our 3-to-5-year-olds, but ultimately, the decision lies with them,” Becca Anderson, an area director with the Boise School District, told the Statesman.

District: Early childhood centers support young learners

The idea to convert Owyhee into an early childhood learning center is an effort by the district to create facilities that are set up to specifically serve young students.

The district offers early childhood options at more than 10 sites now, but creating centralized buildings for hundreds of young learners would allow families to form larger communities and teachers to more easily collaborate, the district said. The district also could provide a number of specialties at one site, such as occupational and physical therapists, and it could retrofit the building to provides restrooms and playgrounds that are suited for students who are 3 to 5 years old.

The other center for early learners, the Madison Early Childhood Center, is a collaboration between the district and Head Start and has been operating for nearly two decades. Earlier this year, the district announced it will move to its Fort Boise facility.

Anderson said the district has a waiting list for pre-K and many of the 3-to-5-year-old students live on or near the Bench, so it makes sense to open an early learning center in that area. “The need is here in these neighborhoods,” she said during the meeting.

The enrollment at Owyhee has also gone down over the past decade from over 300 at its peak to about 150 students currently. Only about 80 of those students are within the boundary for Owyhee, district officials said.

Parents push to keep school open

But parents say the size is what they love about the school.

Since learning that Owyhee could close, parents have mobilized. They have started an online petition to keep the school open, which had more than 250 signatures as of Tuesday night, and have circulated petitions in person.

“Closing this school would not only disrupt the education of students but also tear apart the fabric of our close-knit community,” the online petition said. “We understand the need for early developmental education. However, we believe there must be alternative solutions that do not involve depriving our children and future generations from having access to local community education.”

Parents have put up yard signs that read “neighborhood schools work” and have gone door to door to spread awareness. They have handed out flyers and talked with the district. They have urged the district to send out clearer communication so parents know the closure isn’t final.

If Owyhee closes, they worry their kids will get sent to a school that’s far larger. Some of the other neighboring schools have hundreds more students than Owyhee. Some parents are concerned about bullying that could happen at larger schools and their children not getting as much personalized attention. Administrators said they understand the concern over large schools, but it is easier to offer more resources and services at schools with more students.

Some parents have expressed concerns their kids will have to travel farther and figure out how to safely navigate busy intersections. Many of the kids at Owyhee have been going to school with the same group of children for years. They’ve formed close friendships, and splitting them up and sending them to different schools could take a toll on their mental health, parents said.

But many parents are also upset about the process. They said it’s been moving too fast and they haven’t been included.

“It’s been rushed. There’s been no parent input,” said Candace DeMeester, who has a 4-year-old who attends speech services at Owyhee but is not yet old enough for elementary school. “It is not fair to this community. … They used verbiage that said that this was a done deal.”

Anderson said she understands it’s a tough decision, but the district always intended to include families and give parents as much time as possible to prepare for a potential change.

“It’s super, super fair that people are really emotional right now. It’s a little community, but that’s the strength of it, is that it’s a passionate community,” she said. “As soon as we decided we wanted to explore this proposal, we wanted people to know.”

Next week, the school board will hear a presentation on the timeline for looking at the potential boundary changes.

Parents said they are proud of how the community came together, and plan to continue standing up to fight for the school they love.

Marcie Matthews, who has a kindergarten student and a second grader at Owyhee, said she loves that Owyhee feels like home.

“All of the workers here know my kids by name, and when we come, they know my face,” she told the Statesman. “They even know my 2-year-old son. … It’s not just a kid walking into a school, it’s walking into a community or a family.”