![Reaching out. Christopher Lesh, student at Central Catholic High School, serves ice cream during the event on March 2, 2025, at the Portland waterfront. Central Catholic was just one of the schools that sent student volunteers out to cook, prepare, dish, and serve food. Interact club’s co-president Rachel Gerber, junior, plated the food during the event. “I like how direct the contact is,” Gerber said. “You’re there [and] you’re just doing something good. It’s simple, it’s easy, you can feel good about it.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/interact-1-edited-1200x744.jpg)
*WEB CONTINUATION: This article originally appeared in Volume 105 Issue 4 of our news magazine, Amplifier.
After initial discussion regarding the fifteen million-dollar budget deficit within the West Linn-Wilsonville School District, the board had originally decided to close one of three low-enrollment primary schools in the district: Stafford Primary, Bolton Primary, and Cedaroak Primary.
For months, parents and students have voiced their opinions to the school board about the possibility of a primary school closing as an attempt to save money within the district. At the school board meeting earlier this year, almost 200 parents attended and shared their thoughts regarding the decision. Paige Stevens is a parent of a first grader at Bolton Primary.
“When we moved to our neighborhood, [we] found that there were five other first graders on our block. We instantly had a family and a community, and a neighborhood that they just don’t make anymore,” Stevens said. “So I just wanted to say, it’s not just the size of the classes. It’s not just the school, it’s a family to us, and it’s a representation of our entire neighborhood.”
Now, after six months of discussion within the community, the board has decided that Stafford Primary, Bolton Primary, and Cedaroak Primary are guaranteed to remain open through the 2026-2027 school year.
For some parents and students, it is a relief that the schools will remain open. However, it leaves the community wondering where the money will have to be taken from for the district to avoid additional debt. Some potential alternatives mentioned include the sale of Oppenlander Field, potential teacher lay-offs, and moving border lines.
Louis Taylor is District Chair and has been a community member for over two decades.
“It’s a no-win decision either way. Either schools are getting closed, or teachers are losing [their] jobs. It’s unfortunate that those are the choices that we have been given,” Taylor said.
The board and community of the district came together at this meeting to decide to keep the small schools open to honor the students and families who call these schools home. Kelly Sloop is a board member.
“As a director and a public servant, I have the duty to act on the board governance, and that is the act of transforming the needs, wishes, and desires of the community into goals and policies,” Sloop said.
As details of the budget cuts are still being discussed and the district has constant updates to ideas and policies, it is important to try to stay connected and up to date on future decisions. Attending the monthly meetings and/or reviewing the WLWV School District Board Meeting Minutes are some ways to be involved and informed.
