Rallying around a local school, a community doing all it can to keep it open.
The Old Mission Peninsula Education Foundation gave TCAPS a letter saying they would buy the Old Mission Peninsula School in Traverse City.
TCAPS is considering shutting it down because of cost and low enrollment.
But in March, negotiations started to keep the school open past the start of the 2018 fall semester.
If the school eventually closes, the students would end up at a renovated Eastern Elementary School instead.
"That emotional pull of people wanting their grand kids to go there," said Allison O’Keefe.
Communities have a connection with their school.
That tie is why the Old Mission Peninsula Education Foundation is doing all it can to hold on to theirs.
Starting with buying the building.
"We really need to separate the two pieces and no matter what let’s get the building. No matter what it’s valuable to the community as a community center and school currently it’s being used as a library. It’s historical as well," said Allison O’Keefe.
The ultimate goal is to keep their students here at the school, but if that can’t happen, the foundation wants to hold on to the building.
They submitted their letter of intent to TCAPS Tuesday with an offer of 750 thousand dollars.
"From here our board will take it through the board of finance and operations committee they meet on November 2 and then from there it would be a recommendation to the full board and they meet on the 14," said Christine Guitar.
The original deadline to decide whether or not to keep the school open past 2018 was November 30.
But now things are more flexible.
"We set that, because we do need that direction. It wasn’t in relation to just the sale of the building so I think there is a distinction there and a negotiation that would happen with the purchase and sale of the building could be separate for that," said Christine Guitar.
So for now, everything is still up in the air.
But the community and the district hope to find direction soon.
"I think by getting this building back it will just sky rocket and the whole community is going to jump up and down and say we are going to make this happen no matter what," said Allison O’Keefe.
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