BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – The Brevard County School Board on Tuesday will vote whether to close Cape View Elementary School.
The district is considering closing Cape View Elementary School in Cape Canaveral because of a decline in enrollment. If shuttered, the nearly 300 students at Cape View would be moved to Roosevelt Elementary School, about 7 miles away.
A couple weeks prior to this meeting, Cape Canaveral city leaders made their plea to the school board to not close Cape Canaveral’s only school.
“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.”
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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.
[WATCH BELOW: Parents plead at Cape Canaveral meeting to keep elementary school open]
“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 proposal has drawn pushback, with more than 2,200 people signing an online petition to keep the school open.
The board’s vote on whether to close the school is happening Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The community will get its final chance to weigh in. If the board votes to close, that would make this semester Cape View’s last.