Suslovic: Save Clifford!
State considers school ‘not viable.’
After strong opposition emerged to his proposal to close the Reiche Elementary School and combine its student population with that of Clifford Elementary School, Portland City Councilor Ed Suslovic has raised the possibility of renovating the Clifford School instead of closing it.
But at a meeting of the parents’ group ‘Building Bridges’, held at the Presumpscot School on February 9th, School Superintendent Mary Jo O’Connor said that state officials said in 2004 that they would not renovate the Clifford School. She had previously said that the state considered Clifford ‘not a viable school.’ Suslovic, however, says that the state’s evaluation process has not been completed and that the closing of the Clifford School is not a certainty. Suslovic did not attend the February 9th meeting.
The Presumpscot School in East Deering is one of the schools being considered for closing along with Clifford. The Portland City Council plans a hearing on February 27th to discuss the entire school consolidation issue.