Save our School

Last night, 1/23/12, I spoke to our City Commission about soliciting their support to save our school. I was so proud to be part of such a great community who showed their support in such passionate ways! The kids were an incredible testimony to what a great school we are a part of!

Dear Commissioners,

My name is Andy Searles. I have been a resident for over ten years; I am a parent of a child at CES, a pastor, a leader in the Community Task Force and a spokesman for the large number of people who want to keep Casselberry Elementary School open.

Last Sunday, it was brought to our attention that Casselberry Elementary is number three on the list of seven schools from which the School board is looking to close two. This is incredibly alarming. Our school has been able to position itself at the center of our city, primarily because of its excellent faculty, its involved parents and its supportive community

The criteria to close the school spans four areas. We lead the pack in three areas;

1)      Student attendance - where we are just 3 students below the School boards break-even point of having 751 students.

2)      Transportation - We only have 2 buses and 9 routes coming into and out of our school each day.

3)      Absorption - We have the largest student population of those on the list to close and therefore to relocate our students is an enormous challenge.

The area that puts us at a disadvantage is the age of our school campus. As we look into the $11 million of capital expenses that the School Board believes we need, we strongly disagree with their assessment that the renovations that they listed are urgent, let alone necessary.  

We believe that great communities like ours are built on great schools! The effects of our local elementary school closing will be devastating to all residents. Should the school close our youngest residents will be bussed to other cities, our ability to generate new revenue sources as a city will decrease, our housing taxes will inevitably increase, we’ll  become less of an attractive place to live, and our community will lose what many believe to be its heart and soul. Our ability to thrive will be heavily impeded.

As members of this community we respectfully urge you, our city leaders, to advocate for us and with us as to how vital it is that our 51 year old school remains open. As residents we would be very disappointed if you did not do everything possible to advocate for our great and beloved school.

This evening we would like your verbal affirmation on the following;

1)      Will you advocate vocally through letters, E Mails and calls to the School board about how vital it is that our school remains open?

2)      Will you do all that you can to support any new legislation, on county and state levels, that generate more financial resources going towards our schools?

3)      Will you seek to leverage the influence we have given you to aggressively advocate for Casselberry Elementary School?

4)      Will you help us to communicate the “save our school” message using some of the existing communication mediums that you have within our city?

Casselberry is a fantastic place to live in and a great community to be a part of. We are grateful not only for your support, but for your leadership.