Rolando Park Community Council

I would like to think that the candidates are keeping up to date on the closure issue. I have heard most of them say they think the current handling of the situation is bad, at best. They have all said it should not be done lightly. Only some of the candidates have said that they would: not vote to close schools; not close Rolando Park Elementary; or when it would be acceptable to close a school. If they could save large percentages of the budget, or it was costing tens of thousands of dollars per pupil to keep a school open for a few students, I could maybe accept a school closure. We have not seen this reasoning within the context of RPE. I have only heard Jackson and Acle say they would not close RPE. I would love to know why they would not. If we do not know why they would not close it, they might be susceptible to changing their minds after learning something they do not know about currently. I like an open mind, but need to know that they are firm and have good reasons for voting to keep our school open; that would be the best reason for me to vote on a candidate. After all, we heard have people running for offices say things then later change their minds saying I did not know all the information or some other excuse to get out of owing us their allegiance as promised. We need real answers, not lip service.