Elmwood parents protest possible closing of school

WRVO – Parents used the Martin Luther King holiday to protest a plan that will take their children out of their neighborhood school.

Several dozen parents held picket signs and petitions outside Elmwood Elementary School.

Elmwood and one other school are slated to close eventually, as part of a plan to save money for the Syracuse City School District.

Under the plan, students at Elmwood and Bellevue elementary schools would be moved to middle schools starting next year. The middle schools would become K-8 schools.

Elmwood and Bellevue would then house students from two other city schools that need to be shut down so they can be renovated.

When the renovations are complete, Elmwood and Bellevue would close.

Eliza Sampson, a parent of Elmwood students and President of the Parent-Teacher Organization said the protest intends to show that "we are trying to say we support our community...and we want to keep this school open."

Sampson said parents would attend Tuesday night's public meeting called by the school district to explain the closings and get public input.