It is the right of every child in America to have access to education that is free, local, and of sufficient quality to prepare them for life beyond the classroom. Education is the single most effective tool for raising the quality of life for students, moving them out of poverty and helping them to become responsible and involved members of their communities. Until Wednesday, April 15, 2026 -- the students, parents, faculty, and staff at Harvard Elementary School in Toledo, Ohio, had the reassurance of a school home that provided just such a level of public education to the children of the surrounding area.

It was announced on Wednesday that Toledo Public Schools (TPS) have submitted a proposal to the school board that Harvard be closed at the end of the 2025-26 school year as part of a larger cost-cutting initiative aiming to close a multi-million dollar budget gap in the school system. Harvard was one of the schools chosen for closure, despite the long legacy of the school (next year would be the school's 100th anniversary) because of declining registration numbers over the last several years. However, many served by Harvard feel that the small class size has been a benefit to the students and faculty at Harvard. Countless studies show that classes with 20 or fewer students support better learning outcomes, fewer behavioral issues, and more positive workplace environments for faculty and staff.

Public education cannot and should not be run in terms of profit and loss. While the need to economize, especially in the current political climate which has repeatedly and systematically defunded the public education system, is understandable, the dollar-value of our students' education is less important than their continued support, success, and safety in a school which they have known and loved for years; many students (and faculty) at Harvard have never known another school as home. 

Neighborhood public schools like Harvard are uniquely situated, set apart from charter schools, private schools, and even public magnet schools -- in terms of accessibility, inclusivity, affordability, and social equity. Neighborhood schools, when properly funded and supported by their school districts, provide equal access for all students to resources, opportunity, and education, regardless of race, gender, religion, creed, ethnicity, ability, or income. Public schools historically serve as accessible environments for all students at every level, and it is a documented fact that students who require additional support (such as individualized educational plans [IEPs], behavioral or social support, and/or therapeutic interventions) receive them more reliably and with greater success in neighborhood public schools than do students in non-neighborhood public schools.

It is the duty of the elected officials in our community, including members of the Board of Education, to support and protect equal access for all students in the community to free, accessible, quality education. Instead of cutting necessary and valuable services such as our neighborhood schools, we ask that our public servants use their position and influence to advocate for increased funding for our neighborhood public schools and the proper allocation of those resources to best benefit the students of the system.

The TPS School Board will be voting on the proposal which will, amongst other cost-cutting initiatives, close Harvard on April 28, 2026. We ask that instead of approving a measure which will raise class sizes, create transportation and logistical difficulties for working families, cost many dedicated educators their livelihoods, and take out a thriving part of a close-knit neighborhood, the Board instead investigate other options which will enable us to keep our "Castle on the Hill" school which Toledo has known and loved for nearly a century.

Please sign this petition asking the TPS School Board to keep Harvard Elementary School open for our students, faculty, staff, and community.

Written by: Minerva Gale