Don’t Dissolve
Village School

As the parents of a Village School student, we were dismayed to learn of a petition brought by a few citizens of Granville to dissolve our school's merger with Hancock and effectively close our school.

None of the petitioners ever attended a School Board meeting to voice concerns over the budget or the performance of the school, so it is surprising to many of the parents and teachers that we still have neighbors among us who don't value our school as we and our children do.

We believe that the teachers and board members have worked hard to keep our school fiscally responsible. We parents have taken a very active role in raising money and writing grants to replace items cut from last year's budget such as field trips, books and periodicals, the Spanish program and the ski program. So far this year we have raised approximately $4000 and received a $10,000 grant for the playground fund as well as a $6000 grant for the after-school program.

The Village School, with campuses in Granville and Hancock, is among the oldest still-operating schoolhouses in the country. Many generations of children have passed through those historically significant rooms.

We ask that our neighbors stop trying to close our school and instead allow the Village School to continue to function in its intended capacity. It's bad enough that after sixth grade these kids cannot be educated in their own community. It's unfair to insist that they be shipped out to other towns at four years of age when we have a wonderful, vibrant school with fantastic teachers who truly care about our kids and their education.

Please help us nurture that sense of community and keep our kids close to home and our small school thriving. Our kids need this school. Our community will be much emptier without it.

Trina and Jaime Service

Granville