PEORIA -- The temperature outside was below zero but the Jan. 15 meeting of the District 150 Watch group with Woodruff High School supporters was plenty hot.
More than 150 people squeezed into a room at Godfather's Pizza where they vowed to stop the Peoria District 150 proposal to close Woodruff High School and transfer its students to a reorganized Peoria Central High School.
The group agreed to mobilize and attend the Jan. 20 board meeting, preceded by picketing at 5:30 p.m. outside the Wisconsin Street headquarters.
Students, faculty, parents, alumni and interested citizens were united in their outrage over the plan. They also will reach out to Peoria Central High School supporters to join them.
"They want to divide and conquer, to pit Woodruff against Peoria High. We need to stay united," said Alicia Butler, a former School Board president who is part of the District 150 Watch group.
The 90-minute meeting featured many brief speakers who looked at the implications of the merger. Among their concerns:
-- Previous middle and grade school mergers in Peoria have been disasters, with rival students fighting and being kicked out of school.
-- Students will have opportunities for sports and other activities diminished.
-- The proposal could increase segregation and poverty, since some middle class areas in the Woodruff district will be sent to Richwoods High School.
The district needs to save money, and the closing plan is part of a budget initiative. Many people at the meeting said there are other ways to save, such as ending the district's contract with the Edison schools.
The plan was hatched briefly by a few administrators, without public input, and perhaps based on suppositions about future revenues, said activist Terry Knapp, who helped organize the meeting.
Knapp said 400 people need to turn out for the demonstration next Tuesday, so the board will pay attention. "Wear blue and gold," he said. "Bring your own sign."
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