Closure would hurt our community

To the editor:

I am a resident of Pennville. My two daughters attend Pennville Elementary School along with their cousins and friends. My husband was a Bulldog. I was not a Bulldog, but I am now.

I moved to Pennville with my husband after we returned from our station in the navy. We've been back here with our family for 10 years. In that 10 years, I feel a sense of community I didn’t have growing up in a bigger place. I know Portland isn't a big city, but there's something special about knowing all of your neighbors by name.

I love that my kids have small classes, that they get to progress through elementary school with basically the same groups of kids year after year. I do not want to see my kids in the same class with 30 other kids. Closing Pennville will separate my daughters from some of their most favorite people, and they are not taking it well. 

I also live literally right beside the school. I'm nervous about what will happen to the value of our home if the school closes. The school being so close is one of the house's selling points. 

I cannot commit to driving my kids to school every day, but I am also unwilling to have my 6-year-old on the bus for a ridiculous amount of time to get there. We have a busy schedule. Busing kids to other schools means less time for family, friends, relaxation and their other activities, which are just as important as their education. Why are Pennville residents the only ones currently being burdened by these worries?

Multiple times, my youngest daughter has come home from school with questions and anxiety about where she will be attending or whom will be going there with her because she doesn't want to be the only one in her class from Pennville. There are a lot of worries on my kindergartener's shoulders and few answers I can give her. There has got to be a better way to cut costs, but I'm starting to feel like the school board's mind has already been made up.

School or no school, there will still be great things to be said about Pennville, especially its residents. I fear for the fate of our small town once one of the main draws for young families is removed. Other rural towns in Jay County should have this fear as well because closing Pennville Elementary is only step one. Your school could be next.

Krista Geesaman 

Pennville