‘It’s not just a building’: Parents push back on plan to close 6 Salem-Keizer schools

MARION COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) - Keira Bayless and several other Keizer parents went door-to-door Saturday, spreading the word that their school — Cummings Elementary — might close.

“I think just devastation, shock and betrayal was felt through the PTA,” Bayless said.

Cummings is one of six elementary schools Salem-Keizer Public Schools proposed closing on Friday. Brush College, Candalaria, Englewood, Liberty and Richmond are also on the chopping block.

The district said the closures are driven by declining enrollment, citing falling birth rates and smaller incoming classes. Salem-Keizer has 36,000 students, down about 6,000 from its peak.

“We are so sorry this is happening to you, that we’re bringing a proposal that is upsetting,” Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said. “If there was a way to avoid this, we absolutely would.”

The district plans on adjusting school boundaries as well. Rosita Carbajal worries about moving her kindergartener. She goes to Richmond Elementary in Salem.

“I’ve personally had the experience where my daughter doesn’t do well with those types of transitions,” Carbajal said.

Not only that, Carbajal told FOX 12 that Richmond is the heart of the neighborhood and said families, like hers, might leave if it is not there.

“I know it’s cliché right, everybody’s saying it’s not just a building,” she said. “But it literally isn’t. It’s a family.”

Bayless feels similarly. She hopes they are able to get enough support from the Cummings community the school board hears their concerns and comes up with another plan to keep the schools open.

“Why are birth rates declining? It’s almost impossible to raise a kid in this economy. It’s horrible. I think that if that’s the issue, we just need more solutions. I don’t accept that as being the end all be all,” she said.

Salem-Keizer’s plan comes the same week Portland Public Schools announced the potential closure of up to 14 schools. Superintendent Castañeda said the proposal would affect about 5% of students, which is a little less than 2,000 children.

District leaders are scheduled to present the recommendation to the school board Tuesday. The board is set to vote on the closures in December and the boundary changes in February. Any approved changes would take effect in fall 2027.

There are also several listening sessions scheduled for community members to share their thoughts:

• 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Leslie Middle School
• 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Claggett Creek Middle School
• 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 16 Crossler Middle School
• 10-11:30 a.m. Oct. 17 Straub Middle School
• 2-3:30 p.m. Oct. 17 Waldo Middle School