Letter to the Editor: An Opinion About Edwardsville School District's Consideration Of Closing Midway Elementary

EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville School District 7 is considering closing Midway Elementary and sending all northern K-2 students, who come from an area larger than 50 square miles to Hamel.

Through the D7 engagement process, it has become clear that D7 gathered little background on the condition of the Midway aside from the study completed by Cordogan Clark.

I and others have requested basic information from D7 on the condition of Midway and have yet to get answers. At the recent November 30 Midway engagement meeting, attended by nearly 130 people opposed to closure, D7 abruptly ended the meeting, still unable to share the root causes of building issues or context on why the district has failed at conducting basic maintenance at the school.

This community does not agree with the current proposal. And there are several alternative solutions to fixing Midway School that would cost far less than the $5 million proposed. D7’s failure to conduct and share research on a proposal for Midway follows D7’s similarly botched proposal of a new Lincoln Middle School at University and New Poag.

Many of the reasons, such as location, travel, bus rides, and community support, that concerned citizens about that proposal apply to Midway. A proud Edwardsville graduate, I was eager to return to D7 to raise my children in the district. My wife and I have been deeply involved in our twins’ education at Midway Elementary. D7 should repair Midway and keep it and Hamel operating for our northern students.

Tim Gueldener is a Midway resident,

Edwardsville alum and current parent

Opinions expressed in this section are solely those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of RiverBender.com or its affiliates. We provide a platform for community voices, but the responsibility for opinions rests with their authors.

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