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To the Editor:

On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the Carter County Board of Education called a special meeting to close Little Milligan Elementary School. Parents and citizens rallied together in hopes of saving our little school for our children. However, the board had their minds made up going into the meeting and voted to close it. They claim it’s due to the budget and will save money, but we have never heard what the other budgeting options are, or the options for our children.

We as parents are concerned about the impact this will have on our children. Mind you, they are currently attending a school with 64 children and will be transferred to Hampton Elementary which has 555 children. That will be over 600 students in one building. This is no small change for our children. This is a dramatic change!

Forcing a child to change schools can have so many negative effects on the children that need to be looked further into. Children often identify with their school and peers. Changing schools can challenge their sense of identity and self-esteem. This can also lead to behavioral changes such as acting out or decline in motivation and engagement. Not to mention forcing children to switch schools can disrupt the continuity of a child’s educational experience, making it harder to build on previously learned knowledge and skills. It may also cause them to experience anxiety, sadness, or a sense of loss.

Some of these students live right at the North Carolina line. The bus route will take over an hour one way. Our kids will be on the bus two to three hours a day after a seven-hour day of school. There has been word of a public meeting area for the buses to pick up and drop off instead of running their routes. If this is the cae, some parents/guardians won’t be able to bring their kids to catch the bus. What are these children supposed to do? Plus, this could be very dangerous. If they have a public meeting place, they need to have an officer at both locations. This could be a prime target for crime and violence.

We as parents are concerned about our children’s overall well-being. These kids will be going from a school that is a second family to one where they will be lost in the shuffle. There is a mental health crisis as well. We feel that forcing them to make this change may be setting them up for failure. Little Milligan cares about our babies. All the faculty and staff at Little Milligan know these kids by name and who they belong to. We don’t have to worry about them at Little Milligan like we will have to at Hampton Elementary.

We don’t feel like the decision to close Little Milligan School is in the best interest of the children and needs to be re-evaluated. All children of Carter County should be protected mentally, physically, and academically.

 

Submitted by Brandy Campbell

Little Milligan Community