Parents Pressure Board to Keep Sycamore Open : Simi Valley: Many hope the emotional appeal for the elementary school will outweigh budget considerations put forth by trustees, who will decide the issue April 18.

Dozens of Simi Valley parents crowded a school board meeting room Tuesday night with a common goal: to prevent trustees from shutting down tiny Sycamore elementary school.

“We’ve come this far, we can’t give up now,” said parent Adel Martin, whose son is enrolled in the severely disabled program at Sycamore School.

“It’s the critical meeting,” added parent Gary Murphy. “I don’t think between now and (April 18) we’re going to change any opinions.”

Earlier this month, a committee of administrators and parents recommended that Sycamore School be closed to save an estimated $200,000 a year. Board members are scheduled to decide the issue April 18.

Low enrollment and an ailing budget forced officials to study closing three schools in central Simi Valley. Sycamore was targeted because it enrolls only 376 students and could be easily leased, officials said.

But the small campus has a cadre of devoted parents who turned out in large numbers Tuesday to urge trustees not to close their neighborhood school. At the start of the meeting, 256 people had submitted cards in opposition to the school closure.

Though most of those attending were parents from Sycamore, about six students also addressed the board.

“I love my school,” said 11-year-old Amanda McGreevy, a sixth-grader at Sycamore. “I’ve been going to Sycamore for eight years and I love it. . . . How can we instantly stand to change schools?”

Among the concerns expressed by parents Tuesday were how much the closure would cost and why school officials were pushing to close the campus by June.

“What’s the rush?” Murphy asked. “The sex-education curriculum has been planned and debated for over two years. The Royal High stadium has been in the works for a number of years.

“In contrast, the closure of Sycamore elementary school has taken 67 days.”

Parents have expressed concern that other schools will be closed as well.

School officials have said that Sycamore is the only school being considered for closure at this time, but that other schools could be in jeopardy if enrollment continues to drop.

Enrollment dropped by 232 students this school year, resulting in a loss of $730,000 in state average daily attendance funds for Simi Valley schools. Because of declining enrollment, school officials say it doesn’t make sense to keep a small school like Sycamore open.

At least two board members are seeking alternatives to closing Sycamore. Trustees Debbie Sandland and Carla Kurachi have requested a study for the closure and relocation of the district office, another topic of discussion Tuesday night.

Board members have less than a month to decide whether to close Sycamore, a decision that requires balancing the budget against parents’ emotional pleas. School trustees said the decision is one of the most difficult they have faced.

“This is going to be tough,” board President Diane Collins said recently. “The toughest one we will have to make.”