On January 6th, District 833 announced a proposal to permanently close Crestview Elementary at the end of this academic year.
We, the undersigned, assert that voting to close Crestview is a direct violation of District 833's Code of Ethics II.B.1 which states that an Educational Administrator must make the well-being of students the fundamental value of all decision-making and actions. Poor budgetary planning by the current School Board and Superintendent's predecessors does not absolve any of the current Board Members or District Administrators of their mandated responsibility to protect the well-being of students. 

We further assert that:
-closing Crestview is projected to solve less than 6% of the $18 million dollar deficit
-the District has no immediate plans for the Crestview building and the empty school will still cost ~$250,000/year just to own & maintain
-if the District closes Crestview, they will then put forth a proposal for building a brand new, multimillion dollar school while taxpayers foot the bill
-proposing to permanently close any school during this pandemic is  unconscionable and will directly and negatively impact the mental, emotional, educational, and possibly even physical well-being of students in South Washington County.
-closing Crestview will increase enrollments at other area schools that are already crowded and will result in moving even more students from the 80th Street apartments that are being built
-closing Crestview will result in next year's 4th & 5th grade students changing elementary schools for a THIRD time due to District re-zoning, all while their families have remained in the same homes.
-Crestview has the most diverse student body, and this is a direct assault on the most vulnerable members of our community, violating the District's own Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion policies.
-closing Crestview and splitting its students & educators will permanently destroy the sense of community that the Crestview faculty, staff, students, and families have worked so tirelessly to create.

In closure, we, the undersigned, demand with the utmost vehemence that the South Washington County School Board reject the proposal to close Crestview Elementary.