Inglewood families rally to protest closure of Worthington Elementary School
County Administrator Dr. Jim Morris said a decision on whether or not to close Worthington Elementary School will come mid-March.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Parents in Inglewood are organizing to fight the closure of another school in their district. This comes after watching Warren Lane Elementary School close just last year.
They said they received a notice before Christmas saying Worthington Elementary School could now potentially be closing.
"If he decides to close it like they did Warren Lane, it just shows they aren't respecting the community," said Victoria Preciado, a parent of a student at Worthington Elementary School.
County Administrator Dr. Jim Morris said funding for schools is based on enrollment and Inglewood Unified School District has gone from 18,000 to less than 8,000 students. A school consolidation committee made of community members voted unanimously not to close Worthington, however the final decision lies with Morris. He said a final decision will come mid-March.
"I think it's important for the community to know that we will continue to listen," Morris said. "That we will listen to their concerns and that we have to make the best decision that we can for all the students in Inglewood."
Parents are concerned that students' educational experiences will suffer if Worthington closes. They worry programs such as the Spanish dual-immersion program at the school will go away and that increased class sizes will negatively affect in-classroom learning.
"We love this school, my daughter is part of the Spanish immersion program," Preciado said. "This is a Latino neighborhood and we really value our culture and the fact that our children have access to Spanish immersion is very important for us."
"What I've heard from the community, one of the things that I have to do is protect it," said Morris about the dual-immersion program. "One of the things that I have to do is protect that program."
With construction projects in the works, parents fear the school is being shut down to make way for more development projects, however Morris said no such plans exist for the Worthington Elementary property.
"They did mention yesterday that the district plans to sell their school site and develop on their school site and there is no plan," said Morris.
When asked about the bond measure Inglewood residents voted to pass that would grant $240 million to the district, Morris said most of the money has been allocated already to repairs and renovations at two local high schools.
The families of Worthington Elementary School plan to hold an action at the school on Valentine's day to demand the school remain open.
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