ARLINGTON — Trafton Elementary School was the right fit for Mike Ray’s family.
When he and his family moved to Arlington, Ray looked around for just the right school for his children. Trafton, located northeast of Arlington, was small and close-knit. Located in a historic school building with a large schoolyard play area, it had an active parent-teacher group and a lot of happy kids.
“It was perfect and still is,” said Ray, who has a kindergartner and a first-grader at the school. “Trafton is a great option that Arlington School District offers, and it’s worth keeping.”
Ray, chairman of the group Keep Trafton Alive, is not alone in his sentiments. Hundreds of people have signed a petition that his group is circulating. Trafton is beloved, Ray said.
However, the closure of Trafton Elementary School is one that the school district is seriously considering as a way to help the school district beat a budget crunch. The district faces a $2.5 million income shortfall, and school officials are searching for places to cut.
The school building is listed on the state Heritage Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Established in 1888, Trafton is considered among the oldest continuously operating schools in the state.
The possible closure of Trafton is under review by the school board because of lower enrollment and its need for extensive building repairs, said district spokeswoman Misti Gilman. Trafton Elementary serves 135 kindergartners through fifth-graders from about 70 families.
Eagle Creek Elementary School, several miles away in Arlington, is about 200 students below its capacity and could easily accommodate Trafton’s staff and students, district officials have said.
State law requires that the school district conduct a review before closing any schools. A final decision on the fate of Trafton School won’t be made until June, at the earliest, Gilman said.
In the meantime, parents and others are making the argument that the school should remain open.
“We are confident that we can refute the claims made by the district about the cost of repairing the building,” Ray said. “Trafton costs money to run, but it is the district’s least costly school. We are concerned that if it closes for next school year, it will fall into such disrepair that it will never open again.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
Have your say about the school
Public hearings regarding the proposed closure of the school: 6 p.m. May 10 and 24 during school board meetings, 315 N. French St.
Other Trafton information and school district budget Q&A sessions at each school building: www.asd.wednet.edu.
Keep Trafton Alive committee meeting: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Trafton School; www.keeptraftonalive.com.
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