The Wichita Board of Education voted to close six schools at their Monday meeting. Now, parents are petitioning to have that decision reviewed at the state level.
On Tuesday, parents began going door to door circulating a petition in an attempt to prevent the school closings. Many parents said that closing the six schools was a decision they didn't have a say in.
District officials say that the students will be cared for, and that they will meet a welcoming teacher at their new school.
However, parents say they are not happy with the answers from the district. And they still have safety concerns for their elementary and middle school students being required to walk a mile or more to a new school.
They are now working is to get nearly 10,000 signatures for the petition in the next 45 days.
If they reach their goal, it will be delivered to the State Board of Education in Topeka to be reviewed. It's expected that the board would either overturn the decision, review it, or leave it as is.
The district says families at all six of the closing schools were sent a letter telling them what options they'd have if their schools were to close. Now that the decision has been made, another letter is going out to those families.
Officials say they are now looking into bussing options for students, which may include using Wichita Transit to get some students to and from their new schools.
Another phase of budget cuts will also be necessary, and the board will be considering consolidating or making cuts within the district central office.
