CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Lindsey Boleyn has spent her entire teaching career at Wright Elementary and was disappointed to see the school on a possible closure list, but not just for herself.
“I want to keep these neighborhood schools open,” the second-grade teacher, who has been at Wright for 25 years said, before the Cedar Rapids School Board met to discuss possible closures on Jan. 12, 2026.
A standing room only crowd of more than 100 people filled the larger board room before a dividing wall was opened with additional chairs.
Boleyn said she disagreed with the push towards larger schools, especially for students facing socioeconomic and language challenges.
“They’re picking the schools that are the most vulnerable,” she said, citing Cedar River Academy at Taylor Elementary in southwest Cedar Rapids as another example.
Notably, Taylor parents and those from Johnson STEAM Academy in southeast Cedar Rapids, both in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, appeared absent from the meeting, though both also are on the list for potential closures. Cleveland and Nixon also could potentially close, along with Wright and Pierce Elementary.
Truman Early Learning Center in northwest Cedar Rapids would also close under the proposal.
A sign in support of neighborhood schools is seen during the School Board meeting. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Numerous parents, teachers and even students attended to show their support for Wright and for Pierce, both in northeast Cedar Rapids.
A Wright second-grader was among 24 people who addressed the School Board during the marathon meeting, which lasted more than five hours.
“My school is small and that is important,” Amara Stevenson told the board. “I know all of my teachers and they know me.”
She noted that her teachers even came to her birthday party. “That’s how much they care.”
Still, the school district is looking to keep open schools at the elementary level that can accommodate a larger number of students, at 500 or so.
With an enrollment this year of just over 250 students, Wright has about half of that number. The building’s capacity is 364 students, so enrollment is about 69 percent of capacity.
One parent described her 5-year-old child’s first day of kindergarten at the combined Harrison/Madison Elementary, when he was put on a bus instead of going to her car at the end of the school day.
The school has an enrollment of 417 this year. Her child was erroneously dropped off at a daycare center, she said, telling the School Board “this is what happens when we have too many students and not enough staff.”
A bond measure that would have made changes in the school district failed in November.
Related: State senator calls for resignations of School Board members
Wright Elementary School teacher Jill Ozarowicz stands behind Amara Stevenson as the second-grader addresses the Cedar Rapids School Board. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Parents and teachers were equally passionate about keeping their schools open, citing more delinquency and other issues with busing students, lowered property values for neighborhoods without schools, leading to less money for the district and increased behavioral challenges.
Wright Elementary School teacher Jill Ozarowicz cited a survey given to parents and staff that framed questions to guide or limit responses.
“Survey results are only as reliable as the questions being asked,” she said, in addressing the School Board. “When major decisions are based on that kind of data, it risks not only flawed conclusions, but a loss of trust from the families who believed this process was meant to listen to them.”
Ozarowicz also reiterated the value of smaller schools for more vulnerable students, noting that five of the six schools on the closure list have disproportionately high percentages of students living in poverty, English Language Learners and students with disabilities.
“Small schools and neighborhood schools matter,” she said. “They matter because relationships matter.
They matter because families matter. And research is clear: younger students—especially those with higher needs—thrive in smaller, stable environments where adults know them well.”
“We also need to talk about who is not in this conversation,” Ozarowicz continued. “We have 1,616 families in this district who do not speak English, many of whom attend these schools. A significant portion of our ELL families have not been meaningfully included and do not have a voice in this process.”
Several parents voiced opposition to a concurrent plan to convert some of the six middle schools into intermediate schools, for grades 5-6, saying the move would add another transition for students at a time when they need stability.
The district is considering closing up to seven elementary schools to help address more than a $10 million budget deficit, with a goal to decrease the number of school buildings from 31 to 24.
A list of potential budget savings of $6.7 million was presented to the board, in addition to reductions presented last week of more than $10 million, including a touted $6 million in savings for school consolidations.
School district spokeswoman Heather Butterfield said a decision on what would happen to the closed school buildings would be part of a future discussion.
The board did not vote on any of the budget considerations or closings, and will meet again next Monday, Jan. 19, to further discuss options.
Board members did unanimously approve a resolution calling for the state of Iowa to fully fund public schools and to phase out Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in which taxpayer funding goes to private schools. Decreased enrollment, in part due to those ESAs, has been cited as the main driver of the district’s budget woes.
A petition has been started to promote transparency with the School Board’s budget decisions. Once 500 signatures are gathered, the issue must be placed on the School Board agenda. Anyone living in the Cedar Rapids School District can sign here: https://forms.gle/7QM4mybF8NBEA2uh8
Has there been a “total number of jobs lost” figure discussed by CRCSD as a result of the overall cost-cutting?