Parents express concern over where students will go to school following potential Canyon Lake closure

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Last week, the Rapid City board of education announced the potential closure of Canyon Lake Elementary School, citing building conditions and educational sustainability. But the announcement left many parents with spinning heads, trying to figure out the future of their children’s schooling with minimal information.

“I think I’ve lost more sleep lately thinking about the potential closure and the new school as opposed to losing any sleep thinking about my child being where she is right now,” said Ashley Hammett, a parent of a Canyon Lake Elementary student.

With the vote looming over the permanent closure of Canyon Lake Elementary School, parents are searching for answers in a sea of questions.

“So there’s a lot of unknowns and questions that we all have that I feel like haven’t necessarily been answered. There hasn’t been much discussion as far as where do we go from here. Like are more schools going to be built? Rapid City’s growing. Are we going to be able to accommodate new families?” asked Hammett. “Are these schools that are also facing infrastructure issues like our school might be, are they facing a shutdown as well?”

After reaching out to the RCAS board, a parent lead group did get one answer - their students would be redistricted to one of four schools: Pinedale, Meadowbrook, South Canyon, or Knollwood.

The last of which is sparking concern in some.

“Being on the northside, Knollwood is our option,” continued Hammett. “My main concern as a parent and knowing the area where Knollwood is, seems to be on the news quite frequently as a high crime area. So that, just as a parent is a little un-nerving to know that’s where they’ll be sending our kids.”

But a parent of current Knollwood students says there are pros and cons with any school. She says her family chose Knollwood.

“I transferred them there from Horace Mann for a reason because my oldest went there and I see how the teachers handle the kids there and especially if your kid has disability, autism or anything, ‘cause I was worried about that too but they really work really hard with those kids,” said Katy Sheffer, a parent of two Knollwood students. “They make sure the kids are safe. No matter what, as any parent, that’s what any parent would want for their children. There’s always cons and pros for any school, honestly in Rapid City. It don’t matter if you’re in the valley, Black Hawk, or anything, they’re no different.”

With as many similarities as differences among the various schools, Hammett’s biggest complaint isn’t where the building is located. It’s how the information was shared.

“This was all kind of just sprung on us and we didn’t really have a choice or a say in the matter and we weren’t even given a choice where our kids would be potentially sent to, it was just told to us that this is where your child will go, we know what’s best for them,” said Hammett. “But how do they know what’s best for my child?”

The final vote on whether or not to close Canyon Lake will be made at the RCAS board meeting on March 7.