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Member Publications
Saturday, September 5, 2015 Published by J-Ad Graphics, Inc. Phone (269) 945-9554 1351 North M-43 Highway • Hastings, MI 49058-0188
oors represent many things. An open door seems to say “Welcome, come on in, opportunities are in store.” The opposite emotions arise when the door is closed. When the school doors are closed, many lives may be affected. Families feel unsettled and communities can be left reeling. People respond in a variety of ways. Some may take the news in stride and ride it out, while others have been known to leave the district, community or even state. In the case of Vermontville, it’s school, Maplewood (part of the Maple Valley district), has been reopened. The building closed in 2011 after years of declining enrollment and budget shortfalls. Voters turned the tide in the spring of 2014 when an $18 million bond issue passed, creating the opportunity to reopen the school as a third to sixth grade building. For many of the same reasons, Lakewood schools made the decision this past spring to close two elementary buildings, in Clarksville and Sunfield. These communities may be able to gather hope from the story of Maplewood and see the closed doors instead as potential opportunities. To read more about both districts, look inside.