In a unanimous decision Thursday night, Kalamazoo Public Schools trustees approved the construction of a new bilingual school in the Eastside neighborhood.
The new facility will replace El Sol Elementary in the Vine neighborhood.
Some Vine residents have protested the plan, as well as the district’s lack of plans for the site El Sol will leave behind.
Before the vote, Trustee Carol McGlinn addressed these concerns.
“It's my hope that maybe we will be able to keep the building, but we really need to have the opportunity to look and see if that's a possibility," McGlinn said. "I know it's not going to be a parking lot, completely. I can guarantee that that's not going to happen."
In an interview after the meeting, Superintendent Darrin Slade said KPS does not plan to replace the building with a parking lot. But he added he would make no guarantees.
"I don't foresee the building being torn down and made into a parking lot. I don't foresee that happening, but I don't want to ever say never. You never know what's going to happen," Slade said.
In 2022, when the district sought a nearly $200 million bond, it said it would keep the school in the Vine.
Vine resident David Wilson said KPS should have kept that promise.
“We are the district of the promise, and I feel that promises should matter." Wilson said. "Superintendent Slade, while he did not make that promise, his office did. So while I understand that can be tough, to feel constrained by previous commitments that were made, that's where trust comes from and that's where community comes from.”
In addition to the move, the district will appoint a committee to discuss what to do with the school’s current facility, which will include neighborhood residents.
Speaking to the board after the vote, Vine resident Alex Demetralis said he appreciated that the committee would include members of the Vine community.
“I think it shows a level of compassion that I know politically, I think we're going to be hoping for in the next few years from our whole country. It's good to know we have that locally.”
The district said it plans to form this committee by the end of the school year.
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
