NAMPA — After an emotional showing at Wednesday evening’s town hall, the future of four Nampa schools remains uncertain. Around 100 community members were in attendance at Nampa High School, many coming to speak against the proposed closure of low-enrollment schools.

Nampa’s Board of Trustees sat on stage as over 20 community members gave their comments. This was the first time trustees heard directly from constituents about specific closures.

Most speakers were teachers or parents, and none were in support of closing the schools.

In a cost-saving effort, the Nampa School District has proposed school mergers, closures and demolitions. This would result in the closure of the following schools due to their low enrollment numbers.

• West Middle School
• Central Elementary
• Snake River Elementary
• Centennial or Greenhurst Elementary

West would be dissolved and merged into other middle schools. The remaining building would be reutilized for Union High School — an alternative school that serves students in grades 6-12 — and Nampa Academy.

With the closure of Snake River, the Gateways Program would utilize the building instead.

Central would leave its building, and the Nampa Early Childhood Learning Center and Nampa Online Virtual Academy would move in.

Between Centennial or Greenhurst, whichever elementary school is chosen would be decommissioned. Union and Gateways’ current buildings would also be razed.

COMMUNITY COMMENTS

Discussing the fate of these schools, Wednesday’s town hall quickly became emotional as the first speaker took to the microphone during public comment.

Hollis Babb, a teacher at Central, struggled to hold back tears as she talked about her students.

“I’m OK with losing my job, but I’m not OK with these students losing their safe place,” Babb said. “This is their home.”

Babb asked the board to consider the resources her school brings to the community.

Babb said Central is a trauma-informed school, providing special attention to students’ needs. She worries that, by merging schools, her students will be placed in a larger system with less attentive care.

Central is also home to the Family Community Resource Center which assists people with food, clothing, health care and more.

Another teacher from Central, Aubrey Crisp, described the school as a “one-stop shop” in the heart of Nampa.

As a trauma-informed school, Crisp emphasized that the teachers at Central have specific training and aren’t “just bodies.”

“We are professionals at this,” Crisp said.

Tears were shed, voices raised and seventh-grader Liam McArthur received a standing ovation after discussing the importance of his schools.

“When you make this decision, I want you to think of me,” Liam, who has attended both Centennial and West, said. “I’m one of many Hispanic kids raised in the Nampa School District asking you to keep my school open.”

Tony Johnson, the husband of a Central teacher, believes a specific demographic would be impacted by the closures — students in poverty.

“Why are three of the elementary schools being considered for closure all schools have the highest poverty rates of our history?” Johnson said.

A majority of the crowd raised their hands in support of this comment, the most hands raised in the night.

Johnson also noted that, with these closures, there would not be any remaining elementary schools north of the city’s railroad tracks.

West teacher Stacey Nichols pointed out that each of the schools up for closure are Title 1 schools that are federally recognized as hosting lower-income students. The trustees said they were unaware of this fact.

Though, the district’s page notes “In our district, all elementary and middle schools are designated as Title 1 schools.”

Laura Fuentes has been an English-Language Learner teacher in Nampa for over 20 years. As a Nampa native, Fuentes hopes that her daughter will be able to attend the same school her family has attended for generations.

While she said she could make more money in the Boise School District, she has continued to choose to stay at West.

“I’m not here by mistake,” Fuentes said.

She felt that the district hadn’t considered alternatives to shutting the school down and quickly wrote off West.

“I don’t know why we’re the first one to go,” Fuentes said.

Other speakers echoed similar sentiments throughout the night, questioning what options had been considered. Many expressed that the proposal to close schools seemed abrupt.

Sean Roberts, a retired teacher but ongoing coach at West, emphasized that his concern remains with the kids.

“The opportunities they are going to have will be limited,” Roberts said.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

After listening to the comments, the tone of the board seemed sympathetic. Some trustees suggested that they would like to continue to look at alternatives to closing schools.

Trustees admitted they had not previously considered some of the points brought up at the town hall, despite conversations going back as far 2018.

Chair Brook Taylor wiped away tears as she spoke after public comments. She recalled her own experience going to Central Elementary.

“I’ve needed a food pantry before,” Taylor said.

She was concerned about the potential loss of resources and questioned how they would replace them. Taylor also expressed frustrations working with a budget that is “ridiculous.”

The district has taken financial hits following the end of COVID-19 support, pushing the district to find ways to save money.

Federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding will end in September 2024, resulting in a loss of $3.5 million annually according to the NSD.

In addition, rather than enrollment-based funding, the state has reverted to attendance-based funds. According to the NSD, this has resulted in a loss of $5.5 million annually.

Looking forward, Taylor wanted people to know that what they say matters.

“I hope that you don’t lose sight thinking that it’s a ‘district versus staff’ thing because there’s not a day that goes by … that we’re not talking about the district as a whole,” Taylor said. “(These conversations) weigh on all of us.”

Trustee Marco Valle reflected on his previous experience as a business owner and the mistakes he made in a management position.

“(We were) so focused on saving money, at the expense of employees,” Valle said.

As a result, he saw financial savings at the price of a reduced quality of service.

Valle considered that maybe the board was rushing the decision and that other options needed to be considered. He also acknowledged the emotional weight of the potential closures.

“There’s something to say about emotion, and I don’t want to dismiss it at all,” Valle said.

Vice Chair Jeff Kirkman disagreed that the process may have been rushed. Kirkman said discussions have been going on for many years.

“I would ask, why hasn’t everyone been a part of the conversation for years and years?” he said. “They’ve all been public meetings.”

Kirkman noted that resources at Central Elementary serve more than just the students enrolled and would be missed. He also said that part of Nampa has had issues with being a food desert, an area where access to affordable and healthy food is limited.

“My concern is, what kind of vacuum does (closing schools) create?” Kirkman said.

With money being the core issue, Trustee Jason Su encouraged people to contact their legislators and let them know where they stand on funding education.

“In a perfect world, we can kick the can down the road another year and hope that the legislature gets their act together and provides funding for education,” Su said.

Trustee Mandy Simpson said implementing a four-day school week should be discussed more as an alternative cost-saving measure.

“I hope you know there is not one person on this stage that takes any of this lightly,” Simpson said.

Questions regarding proposed school closures can be sent to the board via email at board@nsd131.org. The board’s next discussion will take place at its Dec. 18 meeting where a decision may be made.