VIERA, Fla. – Cape Canaveral city leaders got their shot at convincing the Brevard County school board not to close Cape Canaveral’s only school.
On Tuesday, just two weeks before the board is scheduled to vote whether to transfer students at the under-enrolled Cape View Elementary to Roosevelt Elementary in Cocoa Beach, the mayor and city council came to school board headquarters to make their plea.
“It’s our only school,” Mayor Wes Morrison addressed the board. “It’s really important to us, and it’s a part of our community.”
[WATCH: Parents plead at Cape Canaveral meeting to keep elementary school open]
Mayor Morrison has said if Cape Canaveral doesn’t have a school anymore, the city will also, effectively, not have an identity.
Cape View’s been in Cape Canaveral since before the moon landing, but demographics have changed in recent generations.
The average age in Cape Canaveral now is 59.
“You know, obviously, it makes financial sense,” school board member John Thomas said about a possible closure. “From a black and white, it’s almost a no-brainer why this is an option.”
Since October, your Cape Canaveral Community Correspondent James Sparvero has talked to Rajesh Ravisankar, Cape View’s PTO president, about holding on to hope.
“Speaking to the parents and to the community, we are still not giving up on our school,” Ravisankar told Sparvero. He said it feels good to know the city council has supported parents.
“The city has been behind us from the get-go,” Ravisankar said.
The board’s vote on whether to close the school is happening on Jan. 20. The community will get gets its final chance to weigh in. If the board votes to close, that would make this semester Cape View’s last.
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