WESTMINSTER : Board Votes to Close Midway City School

Despite overwhelming opposition from hundreds of parents, the Westminster School District Board of Trustees has decided to close aging Midway City Elementary School and renovate and reopen nearby Dr. Jessie Hayden School.

The board Thursday night voted 4 to 1 in favor of closing Midway City, with members Ron Morgan, Nancy Blumenthal, Sheryl Neugebauer and Kathleen Stirling Iverson supporting it, and Margie Rice opposing it. The majority took pains to explain that their choice was difficult, but emphasized that the decision ultimately hinged on what the district could afford financially.

“Someone at the last meeting said that it shouldn’t be a matter of money. Unfortunately, it is a matter of money,” Iverson said, reading from a prepared statement. “I would not vote for this if the budget were not as bad as it is.”

Iverson said that renovating the dilapidated Midway City campus would cost the district more than $1 million and require that teachers, music programs, transportation or other programs be cut or eliminated.

Supt. Gail Wickstrom recommended the closure and sale of Midway City, at 8521 Hazard Ave., because that school would be $1.5 million more costly to renovate than Hayden. Parents have disputed that figure.

Wickstrom also recommended that the district modernize Hayden at a cost of $1.3 million and reopen it while closing Midway City in June of 1993 and declaring it excess property. Hayden, at 14782 Eden St., has been closed since 1978.

The estimated $3 million from the sale of Midway City would be used to maintain and refurbish schools districtwide, Wickstrom said. Midway City was built in 1950 and would require major renovation to keep it usable. Hayden was built in 1961.

Although the board decided to close Midway City and reopen Hayden, it made no decision on whether to sell the Midway City property. The board will consider that issue in about three months, following the submission of a report of the city’s demographics.

Before the vote, several parents urged the board to reject the proposal.

“I am vehemently opposed to closing any schools,” said parent Leonard Cowles. “Please be careful. You’re dealing with our children, our homes, our quality of life. The facts were conveniently slanted to closing Midway City School. The scope (of the architect’s study) was too narrowly drawn, like a horse with blinders on.”

Another parent, Ruth Wagoner, said, “A few dollars in the bank today only to be without space for students tomorrow is mismanagement.”

Board member Rice made a motion to delay the decision, but it died for lack of a second. She voted against the plan after saying that in her 16 years on the board she has always opposed closing schools.

“It’s a setback, but we expected it,” said Lori Griffin, spokeswoman for Parents Against Mismanaged Schools, which opposed the plan. She said she was disappointed with the board’s decision and that her group would consider legal action to reverse it. Her group will also fight to keep the Midway City site from being sold.