BLOG: Wissahickon School District Under Federal Investigation for Discrimination; County Commissioners Want the School to Remain Open
Hundreds of people have protested the closing of Mattison Elementary School. The Board is scheduled to vote on the closure on Monday, January 14th.
Now the United States Department of Education (Office of Civil Rights) is investigating the district for discrimination linked to the closure of Mattison.
This is in addition to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners recommendation to keep the school open. They state that from a land use perspective, Ambler has all the qualities they look for, including walkability, for school location. This location, they point out, best serves the students from Ambler. They state that the population is projected to increase and suggest the district keep the school open to see how demographic and growth trends develop over the next few years.
Why would a school board close a school if there is no solid, evidence-based reason to do so? If, as the DOE suggests, it is a violation of civil rights?
Please go to www.wsdweb.org where you will find contact information for the school board. Tell them to vote "no" on Monday. There are too many issues to address by a board shrouded in secrecy.
Jack
5:49 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Ridiculous. I want the school open but to infer discrimination? ??? Federal tax dollars wasted.
Karen Palmer
7:03 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
I think in this case you will learn the District is at fault, and has been for quite some time. When the Board announced the potential closure, the Administration and Board thought the news would go by unnoticed. Thankfully, the community banded together and presented rather compelling evidence that refutes the reasons for closure made by the district. In the process, it was learned that the district has acted discriminatorily when communicating with the minority population of Mattison and their families. This behavior is unacceptable.
Amy Joyce
7:21 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Inferring discrimination? Nope, stating it.
Liz Kunzier
9:24 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013
In the United States of America, we have the right to freedom of speech, we can say what we want. Just because we say it does not mean it is true. But, if the United States government who ultimately oversees many of the programs we benefit from sees a possible violation of one of the laws that THEY have put in place to protect the people who live in their country;I'm going to go out on a limb and say it isn't just an anonymous inference they're investigating.