Century Turns Out At School Board Meeting To Support Carver/Century

May 21, 2008

Many Century residents, parents and teachers packed into the Tuesday night meeting of the Escambia County School Board to show their support for keeping Carver/Century K-8 School open.

“Help us to live,” Council Member Gary Riley told the school board. “Keep the plug in so we can revitalize ourselves.”

Superintendent Jim Paul’s budget cutting plans include closing the school, possibly as early as the next school year to save the district $680,000 of $16 million in needed savings. Paul has also said several times that he is concerned that the school continues to be ranked an “F” school by the Florida Department of Education.

But those Carver/Century supporters that made the drive from Century to the Pensacola school board meeting begged the board to keep the school’s doors open for both the children and the community.

“As you see, you have strong representation here tonight in favor of keeping Carver Century open,” Riley said. “We may be on a respirator now, but it seems like now you want to pull the plug on the respirator. Century is trying to live; Century is trying to grow. Anytime you pull the plug on the respirator it means that you have given up. Century has not given up on Century.”

“If you close that school, not only the community but an entire city would be in danger,” Riley said. “All of those surround communities would be affected by the closing of that school.”

Rev. Irvin Stallworth told the school board that a blue ribbon committee had been formed to look at ways to reform the school. That committee was named at Monday night’s Century Town Council meeting. (Read that story by clicking here.)

“Closing any school in the community is not the answer,” Julie Booth Moran, owner of Century Pharmacy said. “Helping that school revitalize itself, as our community is trying to do, is the answer.”

“The foundation starts in the community of which these children live,” she said.

“Give us the time,” Moran said. “Help us to keep our school open. I think the community support today shows we are involved.”

Paul has not yet made an official recommendation to close Carver/Century, but that recommendation could come as early as the June 17 board meeting. That closure would most likely see Carver/Century students bused to Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School.

One of the school’s 205 students, fifth grader Olivia Richmond, had a sign at the meeting that said “Be fair to our school. Don’t close our school.”

Comments

Comments are closed.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News