(commented on July 2nd, 2025 @ 2:31 pm)First, let me acknowledge that the roles of County Commissioners and School Board Members are not easy. When done well, these positions require dedication, thoughtful decision-making, and hard work. Thank you to all who serve and help keep the county functioning as smoothly as possible.
That said, there is a quadrant of this county, the third largest of six townships and the fourth most populated, that is the source of the most local income and tax revenue and includes multiple communities and an incorporated town, that is now functioning worse from the decision of the School Board. This area and its school district are now destabilized. The elementary school and the people it served were not considered important enough for elected officials to explore reasonable alternatives before removing the school from an entire township community.
Consolidation has been ongoing for over a century. For the first 50 years, and during the 60s and 70s desegregation, it made sense. But as it has become more centralized, it increasingly fails to serve the unique needs of local elementary aged children, especially in remote communities like Aurora when viewed through the lens of child well being. Despite the education and experience among Board Members, the emphasis was less on children than on balancing the county’s overall education budget at the expense of one of its most underserved and remote school populations. Instead of lobbying for more resources to meet the actual needs, the Board chose to close the least visible school.
We’re hearing from families now forced to relocate, change jobs, or cancel their plans to move into the area. Others, who just moved here before the closure decision, are scrambling to figure out how to manage their children’s schooling and their family’s stability. Busing small children for long hours each day should have been reason enough to reconsider. But the impact goes beyond logistics; this decision is dismantling a community one family at a time.
Had proper impact studies been conducted, as required by state policy, the Board would have likely seen this coming. But for most Board members, this isn’t your district, and these aren’t your families being affected. While I don’t believe the decision was made with malice, I do believe that if this were your children, your school, and your community on the line, you and others would have made a different choice.