Citizens Voice Concern over Carver Middle School Closing

The Carver Community Coalition is a group of concerned Meridian citizens trying to raise awareness among students, parents, and alumni of George Washington Carver Middle School. The coalition held a press conference on Thursday morning to ask Meridian Public School District (MPSD) why they chose to shut the school down.

“I'm here today for someone to tell me why this school has to be closed, why we were not informed and included in the decision-making”, stated Joann Hooper, 50-year alumni of Carver.

“Now, we're not trying to put down any other school. We are only concerned about the whole community. So why not involve us in the decision-making? Our tax money is being paid. We deserve the opportunity to know what's going on in our community, and how it affects our children”, stated Sandra Sims Jones

MPSD Superintendent Dr. Amy Carter stated that Carver had 300 students attending, the lowest number of the three schools, and that’s why Carver was chosen to be closed.

“Yes, we selected Carver Middle School as the school to consolidate because of the declining enrollment. We had teacher vacancies at that particular building. Our middle school's capacity was over 2,300. We were only educating a little less than a thousand students”, explained Dr. Carter.

Another concern was losing the history, within Carver Middle School, and the displacement of the current workers. The district announced in Thursday’s special called board meeting that Carver will be the new site for the district’s central office.

“We did announce today that Carver Middle School will eventually become our central office. In the meantime, we'll start the 2022, and 2023 school years with teachers participating in professional development there. The next year, as we do renovations to the other two middle schools, we may temporarily house students there (Carver Middle School)”, said Superintendent Dr. Carter. “We're really excited to know that Carver will now be the George Washington Carver Central Office Building. Parents could come to that location, a one-stop shop. They don't have to move to multiple locations throughout the city. “

The next step is to discuss the $34 million no-tax-increase bond that will be used to upgrade the district’s campuses. The community will have the chance to voice their opinions on the bond during the community meetings held by the district. The next community meeting will be held on July 28th at MHS Multipurpose Building.

The bond will be voted on by Meridian citizens on August 9, 2022, in a special election.