Petition to Preserve Black Bob Elementary and the Spanish Immersion Program

To the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education and District Leadership:

We, the families of students enrolled in Black Bob Elementary and the Spanish Dual-Language Immersion program, respectfully ask the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education to keep Black Bob Elementary open and preserve the Spanish immersion program at its current location.

Black Bob is  a thriving school community with a strong PTA.  Our students are happy, our teachers are dedicated, and our families are deeply invested in the success of the school. The relationships, culture, and sense of community that have been built at Black Bob are invaluable and cannot simply be transferred to another building.

Black Bob is also one of only two elementary Spanish immersion schools in the district. It serves not only families within the Black Bob attendance boundary, but families from throughout the Olathe school district who have intentionally chosen this specialized program for their children.

Approximately half of Black Bob’s Spanish immersion students live outside the school’s attendance boundary. These families have chosen to participate in this program because of the educational opportunity it provides, despite the additional commitment required to transport their children to and from school.

Relocating the immersion program approximately 20 blocks south, to a school at the southernmost end of the city, would create a significant transportation burden for these families. Because out-of-boundary immersion students do not receive district transportation, many families would face substantially longer daily drives. We believe this would inevitably make the program inaccessible or impractical for some families and could result in a significant decline in enrollment.

The proposed relocation therefore risks undermining one of the very programs the district is trying to preserve. 

Furthermore, the Black Bob community is willing to be part of the solution. If facility improvements or renovations are needed, we believe Black Bob families can come together to help raise funds and support improvements to our school. We ask the district to explore this possibility before making an irreversible decision to close the school.

We understand that Olathe Public Schools faces difficult decisions regarding facilities, enrollment, and financial resources. We are not asking the district to ignore those challenges. We are asking the district to consider the full educational, financial, transportation, and enrollment consequences of closing Black Bob and relocating its immersion program.

Before proceeding with closure, we ask the district to:

1. Preserve Black Bob Elementary community + the home of the Spanish immersion program.
2. Conduct and publicly share a comprehensive analysis of the projected enrollment impact of relocating the immersion program, specifically
3. Consider the transportation challenges faced by the BlackBob students and approximately 50%  of immersion families who live outside the Black Bob attendance boundary.
4.  Survey current immersion families regarding whether they would remain in the program following a relocation.
5. Consider the potential loss of enrollment and the long-term impact that loss could have on the viability of the Spanish immersion program.
6. Explore community-supported fundraising and other alternatives for addressing facility needs at Black Bob.
7. Fully evaluate alternatives to closure that would preserve both the Black Bob community and the district’s Spanish immersion program.

Black Bob is more than a school building. It is a community, and it is an essential part of Olathe’s Spanish immersion pathway.

Our children deserve the opportunity to continue learning in a school where they are known, supported, and thriving. Our teachers deserve to continue serving the community they have built. And our district deserves to maintain a strong, accessible Spanish immersion program that families throughout Olathe can realistically participate in.

We respectfully ask the Board of Education to listen to the families who have chosen Black Bob, recognize the unique role it plays in our district, and choose a solution that strengthens—not jeopardizes—the future of Spanish immersion in Olathe.

We urge the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education to SAVE BLACK BOB and keep the Spanish immersion program at its current location.

Signed,

Families of the Black Bob Elementary Students