Students Protest Camden School Closings, Demand Answers From Superintendent
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) – Students walked out of a Camden school and marched to the superintendent's office Friday. They're fighting to keep their school open.
Veterans Memorial Family School is one of two schools that the district says will close at the end of the year. Those students heard from the superintendent, who told them why.
Students in Camden staged a very vocal protest after walking out of their school and walking to the school district office. They're demanding answers on why their school is closing.
Students let their chants and their signs do the talking as they marched from Veterans Memorial Family School to the Camden City Board of Education Office.
Camden Activists Cry Foul As School District Announces More Public School Closures
Parents and students are outraged that the school district has decided to close the school and begin a dual-language academy in East Camden. The R.T. Cream Family School will be replaced with a new early childhood school.
"I'm walking my child to school and they decided they're not gonna go into this building, so they decided to protest," parent Clayton Gonzalez said.
The school's superintendent addressed the crowd of concerned protesters, applauding their activism while explaining the decision to close the school.
"The decision is because there are lots of repairs that have to be made to the building that you're in and we're gonna use this as an opportunity to create a dual-language academy," acting superintendent Katrina McCombs said.
District officials say the current Veterans building would require $14 million in repairs and renovations – not a viable option in an already budget-strapped district. Even after addressing the crowd, little changed for students who don't want their school to close.
"I don't like it whatsoever," seventh grader Xavier Burke said. "They're taking away our home, most of us have been here since preschool all throughout our lives."
"If the school were to close, it's gonna be a little more complicated for me," Gonzalez said. "I would have to travel maybe a mile or two to take my child to another public school."
Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, all Veterans students will begin to attend either Davis School or the dual language academy at Cramer School. The district is still working to close a $26.7 million budget gap for next year.
