East Middle School students walk out over impending closure

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Since February, three District 51 schools have been on the chopping block to be shut down.

The closure of East Middle School was finalized last week by the school board. The district cites declining enrollment and staffing issues.

Students walked out at 2 p.m. Monday to express their thoughts on the closure, supervised by teachers and school resource officers.

One student had this to say, “We get good test grades. We’re always helping each other out. We have really good sportsmanship. We’re always good to everybody. We just love our school so much. Why would you shut it down?”

Several students we spoke to said they worry about teachers losing their jobs, friends moving away from each other, and disruption to their everyday life.

Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary and Orchard Avenue Elementary East Middle School were also recommended for closure by a demographer.

We expect to learn this week when the board will meet to discuss closing the other two schools.

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