Petition Started To Keep East Elementary School From Closing

LONG BEACH, NY — Officials in the Long Beach School District are expected to meet next week to decide the fate of East Elementary School.

As a cost-cutting measure, the Board of Education is mulling over a plan that would shut the school and spread the students over three other schools, Newsday reported.

However, as stated in a Change,org petition, "We have not experienced a loss of funding that would justify such a drastic decision as initially proposed."

That petition has received more than 2,200 signatures in saving the nearly 100-year-old school.

"Without solid data to show a budgetary crisis, we believe it’s premature and unjustified to consider closing a thriving school, established school and displacing hundreds of children," Joanne Kapp, who created the petition, wrote.