The Corvallis School Board is scheduled to vote on the closure of two schools on Thursday. But parents are rallying against making the decision that day, calling the process of deciding on school closures opaque and rushed.
Parents made their opinions known at an Oct. 30 meeting, which filled the meeting room and an overflow room at the Corvallis School District’s administrative building.
Among the attendees were members of the Save Corvallis Schools Coalition, a group that is not altogether opposed to closures but has rallied against the process that brought the school board to a vote to close Letitia Carson Elementary and Cheldelin Middle School.
“I actually ran for school board in the spring on the idea that we need to close schools for the benefit of the budget and to be able to provide the services to the children that they need,” said Chris Blacker, a member of the coalition.
Blacker and others brought a dozen pizzas to the board meeting, offering them up to attendees who did not have an opportunity to eat prior to the 6:30 p.m. start, or maybe lacked the means to.
“For the folks that don't always get a full meal right now with SNAP benefits cut, we thought it might be nice just to offer something,” he said.
Many attendees would stop and talk with Blacker and the other parents, whether or not they grabbed a slice. Among them was Shun Yamamoto, whose eldest daughter attended Carson and now attends Cheldelin.
“I think all we're looking for is to slow down the process,” said Yamamoto. Do it right, do it with the community. Make them feel like they're part of this process, not like we're, you know, we're getting a check box checked and say, ‘Okay, we talked to the community.’”
While some were there hoping to persuade the board to delay, others were there hoping for more information.
“I really want to see more of the data. A lot of the proposal, even for Cheldelin, is disjointed and all over the place and inconsistent,” said Caitlin Eaton, a data analyst whose daughter attends Carson.
As the meeting got underway, one active parent watched from the second overflow room, which sat in a manufactured building behind the main administrative building.
“We had thought it might be some other schools that maybe enrollment is a little smaller, or it's been dropping over the last few years,” said Tess Luco, a founding member of the Save Corvallis Schools Coalition. “And then when it came out that it was Carson that is really what drove a lot of people to action, because it didn't appear to be a logical conclusion.”
Luco and several others noted that Letitia Carson Elementary is one of four elementary schools in the district that receives Title I funding, federal dollars that schools receive if enough of their students are from low-income families.
They noted that there has been little discussion of closure for the district’s two language immersion schools or Franklin K-8, a school for which admission is decided via a lottery.
In the 2024-25 school year, Letitia Carson Elementary had 333 students, placing it in the middle of Corvallis’ seven K-5 schools for total enrollment that year. Enrollment in the school is down by 21% since the district’s peak enrollment year in 2017-18, a number that is also middle-of-the-pack.
During the meeting, district employees presented a variety of reasons that they said made Carson and Cheldelin the preferred options for closure. The plan also mentioned keeping sixth graders at elementary schools and redrawing boundaries.
The ultimate logic pointed to it being the school that would provide the most savings, the least useful space and the least disruption to student transportation.
Staff also mentioned drawbacks, like how fifth grade students would relocate for their sixth grade year, then again for seventh grade and again for ninth.
They also mentioned recent upgrades at Carson and the loss that the building would be to the neighborhood.
Afterwards, parents and community members spoke to the board during a public comment periodThey reiterated concerns about what they saw as an opaque process that was being rushed.
After two extensions of time and several adults yielding their turn to speak, that portion of the meeting concluded with several children who attend Carson making their case to the board.
“I don’t want to move again because I just made new friends and found teachers that I like,” said Odin, who had moved to Corvallis from Minnesota in recent years.
“We’re such a great community and everyone here gets along so well,” said Amity.
“Kids will get separated, like me and my friends, and it will be harder to stay in contact,” said Juniper.
Several children mentioned their school’s namesake. Letitia Carson was a Black pioneer who arrived in Oregon in 1845. She faced discrimination and ultimately had land and property taken from her due to the state’s exclusionary laws. She eventually relocated from Benton County to Douglas County, where she secured land.
After public comment, Board Member Bernie Wang said this would be a difficult decision.
“We don't want cuts to programs. We don't want cuts to staff. We want an opportunity to restore some of the things the community is asking from us, but you can see how this is going to impact a particular part of town,” he said.
Days later, Board Chair Luhui Whitebear told KLCC she understands the community’s connection to Carson Elementary, but she disagreed with the reasoning that many meeting attendees cited. She said the process has gone on longer than most realize.
“This [request to delay or reconsider] didn't come when we brought it up at our Long Range Facilities Planning public meetings last [school] year, it came up when a school was named,” she said.
That meeting took place in May 2025. The board also held meetings at schools that it considered closing, though attendees said the nature of how comment was accepted at those meetings left little opportunity to express opposition.
She said a further delay could adversely affect those who ultimately lose their jobs, saying they may miss the window to apply for openings within the district or elsewhere.
Whitebear also said the district’s ability to reallocate resources that are at the closed schools would also be hindered if a decision is not made in the near future.
“Setting up a system for success, you need time. To help support people through change, you need time. And to lengthen a decision shortens the amount of time process for those other pieces,” she said.
A final vote on consolidation is scheduled for a Thursday evening board meeting at the District’s administration building.
