Branciforte Elementary
The school board voted to close Branciforte and Bayview Elementary schools last night. My guess is that, when all is said and done, our kids will wind up attending De Laveaga Elementary, just east of Highway 1. Means they’ll have to drive or bicycle to school, since it isn’t really within practical walking distance (I’ll have to double check that, but such is my recollection from prior visits).
Basically, I think the decision, despite the noises made about accessibility and safety, was a political one - the Gault and Natural Bridges parents were vastly more organized and vocal than our parents (who are mostly poor and Latino). In addition, our parents were caught off guard because the recommendation of the committee appointed by the School Board had been to close the other schools and most of them were naive enough to believe it was a settled decision (the paper seemed to portray it that way).
I dropped by the school today, just to check in with the principal and talk to a couple of people I knew there. Everyone was still in a state of shock, only just beginning to think through how to react. Principal thanked me for speaking at the meetings in support of B40.
All in all, a very sad day.