- Parents demonstrated against Lomond View Elementary's potential closure.
- Weber School District officials are studying the possibility of closing the Pleasant View school due in part to declining enrollment in schools in the area.
- Lomond View students score high in standardized state tests, school boosters note.
PLEASANT VIEW, Weber County — Talk among Weber School District officials of closing Lomond View Elementary has prompted backlash from some parents and moves to organize to save the Pleasant View school.
"We love the school. We love the staff, and we don't want the school closed," said Chad Hill.
While school officials have yet to make a formal decision, moves to look into the matter, due in part to declining enrollment in the area's schools, have been enough to spark concern among parents of children at Lomond View. Hill and about 20 others picketed outside the school on Monday to convey their concerns. "My kids are thriving at Lomond View," said Danielle Hawley.
The demonstrators gathered Monday because of Weber School District Superintendent Gina Butters' planned appearance at the school with other district officials as part an unrelated meeting with students to promote reading.
"We love Lomond View," one of the parents shouted after Butters' arrival, as she walked toward the school entrance.
"We do too," Butters answered.
The Weber School District board, earlier this month, authorized district administrators to conduct a study into the possibility of closing Lomond View, one of 31 elementary schools in the system, which covers all of Weber County except Ogden. Built in 1959, it's one of the oldest schools in the district. Simultaneously, the board authorized a boundary study of nearby Orchard Springs and North Ogden elementary schools, which would take Lomond View students if Lomond View is shuttered.
The broad proposal would be to close Lomond View and shift its students to the two other nearby schools, which have space to accommodate more students. Elementary student growth in the Pleasant View and North Ogden area is stagnant, though it's growing in the more western reaches of Weber County, while the Lomond View facility is in need of significant upgrades. Orchard Springs was built in 2019 and is operating at just 53% capacity.
Butters didn't speak with the picketers, but Lane Findlay, the district spokesman, said later Monday that Lomond View backers are passionate and have made their stance clear to district officials. He said there are "compelling" arguments on both sides of the issue.
"It won't be an easy decision for our board," he said. While the study is now underway, board officials won't likely make a decision on whether to close Lomond View until Dec. 3.
The Lomond View boosters point to the high marks the school's students get in state testing. According to the Utah State Board of Education, the Lomond View average on state testing in English, math and science exceeded the averages for the Weber School District and the state as a whole. The school's 59% English score compared to 39% across the district and 46% across the state. The respective Lomond View, district and state averages in math and science were 70%, 42% and 45% and 72%, 44% and 51%.
Several parents at Monday's demonstration said they purposefully moved to the area so their kids could attend Lomond View. "I chose Pleasant View for Lomond View," said Hawley.
Several, citing the staff, clubs and other offerings at Lomond View, also said the specter of closing Lomond View has brought their kids to tears. "It's not just about a brick-and-mortar school. It's about the community that's surrounded itself around the school. Right now we (have) a very positive environment, and we want to keep that," Hill said.
Hill proposed a broad-based redrawing of boundaries to more evenly distribute kids to Weber School District's elementary schools, thus keeping them closer to capacity and enabling Lomond View to remain open. That would also allow for the potential for student growth in the years to come throughout the system, he argued.
Five public meetings or open houses are slated on the topic between Oct. 1 and Dec. 3, and the Lomond View boosters plan to be at them.
