ROSEVILLE SPEAKS

SIMMERING ANGER CONTINUES IN ROSEVILLE
By Ashley Lutz and Meghan Calvagna

The closing of the Roseville elementary school gets personal for most people who live there.

Sarah Johnson, who has a 6-year-old nephew who attends Roseville Elementary School, is particularly upset. Her nephew will now have to take the bus ride to a Monmouth school, which could be up to be a half hour ride. “He walks to school every day. It’s about a four minute walk. Now he has to ride the bus and he does not understand why.” The young boy is confused about why he has to go to a new school, and does not look forward to the change. Johnson says this will be a big difference in their lives. She also says that she will miss seeing the students walking to school and coming into the gas station where she works to pick up doughnuts. Johnson blames the economy for the school problems in Warren County. “If it was not for the economy right now we would not be in this situation.

“It’s a sad day in Roseville” says another resident. Jeremy Wise is the parent of a third grader in the district. He blames the school board for the situation “They made a very uneducated decision,” he declared. “They had a recommendation on Friday and a vote on Tuesday. An educated decision needs time. We didn’t get into this problem overnight and we are not getting out of it overnight.”

Another resident, who asked not to be identified said “It seemed as if there was a large vocal audience at the school board meeting giving their opinions on the closure, but the school board didn’t seem to listen. They would have been better to close the High School and leave the little kids local. The community would have taken better to that.”

The Monmouth-Roseville School Board is made up of 7 members appointed by both Monmouth and Roseville residents. Monmouth members include David Reid Clark, Mary Kelly, and Brad Larson. Roseville members are Mark Colclasure, Lynn Shimmin, and Russ Jensen.