School Board Dumps Plan To Close Over 20 Schools

It was a victory for some Orange County parents fighting for the kids. The school board said it's erasing a plan that would have closed more than 20 neighborhood schools.

Email News Sign-Up Multiple Choices - Auto sign-up (RIGHT ALIGN) GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts The Orange County superintendent said he will not close or merge any elementary schools, at least for now. The board was considering closing 21 schools, some of them A-rated, to help comply with a federal desegregation order.

Thousands of parents in Orange County are breathing a big sigh of relief. They think they had a big role in convincing the district to keep their schools open.

"It was a huge relief like, `Oh, we don't have to fight anymore,'" said Jamie Scibilio.

She's relieved because she just found out her children's school isn't closing. They will still be able walk to class everyday.

Pershing was one of 21 elementary schools the district was considering closing or merging. The idea was to merge smaller schools to create more diversity and help the district comply with a federal desegregation court order. Parents got organized and fought back.

"They were inundated with phone calls and mail and thought, `Wait a minute, if we close this school, these people are not going to be happy and we won't have jobs next election,'" Scibilio said.

Monday, Superintendent Ron Blocker told reporters he wants to keep all 21 schools open, at least for now. He said the parent concerns played a role in his decision, but ultimately it was about diversity.

"We could not find any combinations of small schools, if merged, would significantly improve diversity," he said.

While the 21 schools are off the table for now, Blocker said, there is no guarantee they won't be merged later to save money. That's exactly what worries parents like Scibilio. Her children's school only has 373 students.

"You get this pit in your stomach, maybe they are going to close it for other financial reasons," she said.