If you need inspiration, below is a sample of the many eloquent letters we have received so far Keep sending sending your letters. They are having an impact. Do your part to keep Wharton open. Thank you.
Letter 1
To Whom It May Concern:
My wife and I live in the Wharton Elementary zoned district. We learned recently that HISD is planning to close Wharton. This is a mistake and I urge you to keep Wharton open.
Wharton Elementary is a unique asset in a unique area. It is historic, high-performing, has a specialized curriculum, shows continuous improvement, and serves a diverse and rapidly evolving neighborhood. Such an asset is irreplaceable, and indeed, HISD has presented no plan to demonstrate how closing Wharton would be of greater benefit to the neighborhood than keeping it open. If HISD proceeds to close Wharton and dispose of the property on the open market, I cannot realistically imagine any outcome that will be a net improvement to the character and quality of life of the neighborhood.
I appreciate the board's duty to the taxpayers to maintain an efficient education system. I understand that Wharton's facilities are difficult and expensive to maintain. I also understand that schools of similar vintage and condition have been renovated and kept open. I do not understand, and the board has not made clear, why Wharton has not received similar consideration. In fact, the board has not made clear any of its detailed plans or intentions for Wharton, the student body, or the property, nor the complete factual basis for its decision. Financial efficiency must follow from the needs of students and the community, not the other way around.
I urge you to consider this issue carefully. It is important for all possible impacts on current and future students, and the neighborhood, to be considered. The board's decision to keep Wharton open or close it and dispose of the property will have impacts for decades. If the board disposes of Wharton, this unique asset is gone forever, to the detriment of the students and the neighborhood. Again, I urge you – keep Wharton open.
Sincerely,
Letter 2
Diana Davila,
We are writing with great concern about the planned closing of Wharton Elementary School, to which we planned to send our young daughters next year. We are homeowners who have lived in Montrose for more than a decade. Wharton is our community voting place: we have never missed participation in a primary or general election. We currently use the playground as a recreational facility since there are no other similar playgrounds in our area.
Finally, we have devoted great energy and expense to raising our three year old twin daughters to be bilingual -- equally fluent in Spanish and in English. We believe deeply that these skills will prepare them to flourish economically and creatively in 21st century Houston. After much research, we also believe that dual language education, such as that provided by Wharton, produces the best results in creating bilingualism but also in maximizing test scores of native English speakers as well as those who speak English as a second language.
Wharton's proximity and educational resources were key in our decision to stay in this neighborhood after our twins were born. Just as we are committed to this neighborhood as a place to live, we are committed to Wharton as our local public school and community resource. We are especially concerned that Wharton has been targeted because of the perceived political weakness of its constituency.
Please be aware that we and other Wharton supporters are in fact politically active, and vigilant on behalf of our local public school.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Sincerely,
Letter 3
I am writing to urge you to protest the closure and disposition of Wharton Elementary.
After attending one of the sessions offered by consultants McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy, I understand the desire for economy of scale; however, the closure of this particular school seems ill advised and shortsighted.
The school is performing extremely well. Using test scores and qualitative measures such as comments from parents and teachers, the dual language program has proven to be a huge success. At a time when public education is being attacked from all sides, it would be so sad to uproot one of the few established success stories. It is only through programs such as those offered by Wharton that parents can be lured back to the urban public education system. The success of schools such as Wharton may best serve to counteract the falling school enrollment that HISD hopes to curtail.
The school is a MUCH-used neighborhood resource. Although our oldest child is not yet school-age, we already use Wharton and its facilities extensively. It is a civic hub where we gather with neighbors to vote and (more recently) caucus. It is a wonderful nearby green space with a shaded playground that we use almost weekly, and whenever we use the SPARK playground there are other children on the playground, as well as Little League teams playing on the new ball field. As more and more of the open spaces in our high-density urban neighborhood disappear, these resources are becoming increasingly precious. These public spaces help make our neighborhood such a wonderful place to be. If they are ‘disposed’ of, it affects all of us who live here.
The school is architecturally significant. Obviously, an older school takes investment to maintain and improve. The cost of these physical improvements has to be weighed against the architectural quality and uniqueness of the structure. Sometimes it is advisable to begin afresh (e.g., Gregory Lincoln’s new facilities certainly will be an improvement). However, Wharton has both historic and aesthetic appeal. Like River Oaks and Poe, Wharton is an older school that has a wonderful architectural history and aesthetic that deserves to be preserved.
Finally, on a more personal note, I have been looking forward to the opportunity to send our children to Wharton. And I am not alone, as our neighborhood has seen an explosion of births in the last two years. As parents, we don’t want our daughter (who will enter K in 2011) to go to a ‘condensed’ elementary school where she will be one in one thousand. If that is her neighborhood option, we too may join the masses fleeing to private and charter schools. As a proponent of public education, I hope that HISD can see that crunching numbers for the most efficient schools does not always lead to the best schools and wished-for higher enrollment.
Letter 4
According to a June 10th story by Ericka Mellon of the Chronicle, student enrollment in HISD is "plummeting"; enrollment five years ago was 211,499, today it is 199,534. That's a little more than a 5% decline - or to put it another way, 1% for each of the past five years. Certainly trending in the wrong direction, but hardly a precipitous drop in my view.
Except how could this be? According to Houston.org, Harris and surrounding counties are experiencing increased growth (primarily due to business climate compared with national trends). Kiplinger just rated Houston the #1 city to live. work & play. And didn't Hurricane Katrina bring thousands of parents & kids to Houston? Some have left, but surely many stayed. Has the growth gone to Sugarland/Kathy/Woodlands? And the losses in NE Houston? But you wish to close Wharton Elementary, located in a gentrifying area of Houston. Where does the discrepancy lie?
Here in the inner loop, our property taxes have increased the maximum (10%) allowed each year for quite some time; indeed taxes (HCAD and HISD) have effectively doubled over the past decade. Where has this extra money gone?
Back in the 90s, Montrose property values were a fraction of current prices. Which begs the question: why is it important to close the Wharton school now, but not then? Is it cause & effect - does HISD want to sell the property for that very reason, because today they can now get $5 million+ for it?
My wife and I own a home in East Montrose. We don't have children, but I don't begrudge paying school taxes (perhaps the healthiest way to look at it is that I'm reimbursing for the free schooling I received as a child). But I do love old architecture, also I feel green space is quite endangered - once it's gone, it's gone forever. To imagine Wharton torn down and sold to the highest bidder would be very painful. Other large cities consider their old buildings an asset - why is it the people we elect to run our city and schools care so little?
In my mind, it makes poor business sense for HISD to close & sell Wharton school. The inner areas of Houston such as Montrose/Midtown are seeing record growth and increasing density. And with the current climate of $4 (and rising) gasoline, many Houston suburbanites are rethinking their decision to commute 30 miles each way. Only a fool would bet against this trend.
Dr. Saavedra, Adriana Tamez, HISD board of education members Galloway, Galloway, Dávila, Marshell, Moore, Harris, Rodríguez, Kamran, and Johnson, are you listening? Or, by refusing to disclose your email addresses, do you work in a bubble, oblivious to the concerns of citizens who pay your salary?
