Sugar Grove fears school closure

A group of citizens concerned that Sugar Grove Combined School could be slated for closure used social media to protest via an online petition and as a means for nominating leaders for a community meeting.

The group identifying itself as Sugar Grove Community is using its two-month-old Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SugarGroveVA. The page has featured photos and general community commentary. Initial posts dated Dec. 4, 2011 included notice of the Christmas Parade there that day.

But since Feb. 2, the page has been devoted to sharing and responding to concerns the combined school may close and exhibiting community spirit in opposition.

“It has come to the attention of several via the community page and other online resources that it is possible that the Sugar Grove School may face closure in the near future,” a Feb. 2 post by the page’s administrators on the page said. “We believe that it is the overall opinion of the Sugar Grove Community that our school is a positive thing in our community and should remain open because of the jobs offered and a close location for our children to attend school as opposed to being bussed across a mountain. It is the goal of the community page to bring about a productive discussion on the matter, unite the community on issues by bringing to light the facts of the matter. At this time, we would like to ask for your participation as a community in this discussion to work toward a positive outcome that is amicable to community needs and desires.”Another Feb. 2 post that day said “only 87 people are registered with this page,” and urged more to sign on. But apparent digital signatories swarmed to an online petition against closure at www.change.org, accessible by a link on the Facebook page. A post Monday morning said, “We currently have 360 signatures on the petition from last night's number of 261. We're doing a great job! Hope we reach 500 signatures today!”

The petition letter on the Change.org website said, “If the Sugar Grove Combined School is closed, jobs, children and local families in the community will suffer. The school provides a convenient location for the education of our local children, provides jobs to the community and serves the community in various capacities.

“The Sugar Grove Combined School has also achieved some of the top academic performance scores in Smyth County. Because of this, we believe that we are doing something right!

“Outside of an educational facility, the Sugar Grove Combined School provides a local community playground, walking track, baseball field, tennis courts and grounds capable of hosting various community events.

“If you would like to tell the Smyth County School Board and your local representative that the Sugar Grove Combined School should remain opened, sign this petition and tell everyone you know in the community to sign it whether they have school age children or not! The school is a part of the community and serves everyone!”

The group for a few days also strived for organization, holding through noon Monday online nominations for leaders. The elected leaders were to guide a community meeting, also being scheduled through the Facebook page, ahead of next Monday’s school board meeting.

“This meeting should be headed up by a group of leaders nominated from within the community to represent the community from different viewpoints,” the group said. “Wanted leaders include a parent who currently has children in school and is familiar with school activities and accomplishments (not employed by the school); a faculty representative to present the viewpoints of everyone employed at Sugar Grove School; and a moderator, someone who is a neutral third party to oversee proceedings and intervene or pose neutral questions when necessary, make notes of valid points, etc.”

The elected trio would “be responsible for being leaders and speakers on behalf of the community, attending school board meetings, etc.”

School Superintendent Dr. Mike Robinson said Monday he does not know what triggered the school-closing alarm in Sugar Grove because the school board has not discussed closing the school.

But Robinson said although the Sugar Grove school has not been targeted, no options can be considered off the table as the school district continues struggling with dropping enrollment and revenue.

“For the fourth consecutive year, we’re facing serious budgetary issues because of decreases in state funding,” he said. “We haven’t ruled anything out because we continue to lose enrollment and funding. But there has been no official discussion among the board members.”

Robinson said if the school were considered for closure, “it would be amongst a menu of things to be considered, but the board has not had that discussion.”

According to Robinson, a regional television news report that aired Saturday about the group’s concerns is inaccurate on three points. The report, also posted online, cited “officials” saying the closure would mean the Sugar Grove students would be bussed to a school near the Washington County line, and a loss of jobs.

Robinson said if the location reference is to the new replacement elementary school outside Marion, that site is miles from the line. He also does not know who those “officials” are because, he said, no one in the school district’s administration was contacted for that news story or by the Sugar Grove group. And Robinson said when the school district reduces positions, it works to place as many employees as possible in other school jobs.

“That information was not provided by us,” Robinson said of the news report’s content.

An unsigned e-mail from the Sugar Grove group received by the News & Messenger, also on Saturday, featured language similar to the TV news report. “Closure of this school would mean that our children have to be bussed to the other side of Marion, very near the Washington County Line for school. It also means job loss and unmaintained facilities,” that email said.

Communicating by e-mail Monday, the group called Sugar Grove Community declined to identify its administrators of the Facebook page, saying  they “would prefer that our individual identities be kept anonymous and when reference is made to our comments on record that we are referred to as simply ‘Sugar Grove Community Page’ or similar referral.”

In a follow-up e-mail the group said the new school site “was the location referred to in the previous message.”
Asked the identity of the person who brought concern about a school closure to the community, the group responded, “There was no individual person who brought this information to the community. It was circulated for a while as pure rumor among community members, later it began to circulate Sugar Grove School among employees and finally, the local representative (Jesse Choate) has been contacted by several concerned community members however, his response has been vague at best and it is the general consensus among the community that proposals are being made and then brought to light after the fact.”

Attempts to contact Choate were unsuccessful.

The group said its Facebook page “is not administered by any employee of Smyth County or Smyth County Schools but rather concerned citizens who remain neutral in such matters as this,” although the page moved from neutrality to advocacy in encouraging signing of the online petition protesting closure, and twice featuring a printable flyer headed “Keep Sugar Grove School Open” that promoted signing the petition.

In a confrontational Occupy and Arab Spring era, the Facebook page peacefully promoted community discourse and wellbeing: “Our purpose is to make sure news items reach the community through one central source (Facebook) and are addressed in a constructive and useful manner with regard to the community and those who wish to give input. It is also a means of linking local business with the community for a stronger community.”
The group said Monday a meeting of concerned citizens possibly on Saturday has been called off due to “difficulty getting someone to be nominated to lead said meeting, therefore unless any nominations are made by those participating in the discussion on the Facebook page, there will be no meeting unless other arrangements can be made for a later date.”

This is not the first time the community has voiced preemptive opposition to closing the school.

Smyth County Schools’ comprehensive facilities study was in its charettes phase in the winter of 2008, with members of the consulting firm MGT America gathering input from citizens about needs in the school system. Some 80 Sugar Grove residents met with the consultants at the school, voting on questions as a full assembly then breaking out into small discussion groups.

Dr. Ed Humble, head of the facilities study and MGT’s director of educational facilities planning, led one of the discussions and said there was no secret that with their small enrollments, Atkins Elementary and Sugar Grove had the potential to be consolidated within Marion schools. But he said there’s more than education at stake in such a move and MGT and local school officials knew the value the community placed in its school.

And as an active Facebook page showed in recent days four years after the facilities study, many in the community still will not let their school go easily if it comes to that.

By Tuesday morning, 484 signed the petition, according to the Facebook page.

“Let’s keep up the great work, Grovers! Make it 500 today and 1000 by next week! SIGN THE PETITION!” the page said.

dkegley@wythenews.com