Story by: Kaia Hofmeister, Hometown Highlight Editor
Photos by: Taylor Jakeman
The fate of schools in Grand Junction had been up in the air for months.
East Orchard Mesa Middle School has decided that their building will be closing their doors to students and faculty, but it’s being done with a heavy heart from everyone in the school district.
Tracy Seremak, a Palisade High School teacher, explains that although she understands the justification of the decision to close EOMMS, it still hurts to see.
“The idea of closing schools and having to move people around unexpectedly, or maybe expectedly for some, is never an easy decision or an easy experience,” Seremak said. “For me, personally, it doesn’t personally impact me, but it impacts a lot of my friends, my colleagues and their children.”
Seremak explained that it’s hard from both angles, trying to support her colleagues but also thinking about the situation from a leadership lens, trying to also be supportive and responsible for the community.
In a study completed by the Colorado Department of Education, the state of Colorado has experienced a teacher shortage for many years, with an average of 7,000 positions needing to be filled each school year.
“Unfortunately, it makes sense, right?” Seremak said. “We’re just spending a lot of money on schools that don’t have enough people in them.”
While some schools find substitutes or fill-ins to cover their needed classrooms, many classrooms still remain empty through the entire school year. The 2021-2022 school year hit record numbers, with 440 unfulfilled positions throughout the entire school year.
While schools closing makes sense in terms of positions unfulfilled, it doesn’t mean that the staff at EOMMS, which has been officially deemed as closing, will find work within other schools. The students and staff members will be tasked with finding homes in other schools for the 2023-2024 school year.
“After last night, I did speak with one of my association partners, the Vice President, and she spoke with the principal there [at East Orchard Mesa Middle School],” Seremak said. “And we had asked them if they would like us to have support in some way today. And their response was that they just need to be alone right now and take care of themselves.”
Several students at EOMMS shared their thoughts on their school closing.
“They should keep this open next year because lots of kids aren’t going to be able to see their friends if they are all going to move to different schools,” Madison said, a seventh grader at EOMMS.
Another student, Ethan, also explained why he thinks EOMMS should stay open — but for him there were different reasons.
“I think that they should keep people in our school because we get good test grades,” Ethan said, a sixth grader at EOMMS. “We’re always helping each other out. We have really good sportsmanship. We’re always good with everybody. And we just love our school so much. Why wouldn’t you?”
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