Fruita 8/9 Closing

By: Weston Sharpe and Cody Slawson

Fruita 8/9 has been open since August 2006, and many people have enjoyed attending the school. The school board decided to close down the school at the end of the year, leaving faculty unsure of what the future holds. All 8th and 9th graders currently at F89 will be going to the high school. Incoming 8th graders will merge with Fruita Middle School, which is taking over the F89 building. This also threatens the jobs of the teachers at F89.

 Students have mixed feelings about this, some could care less. “I do not care about the school closing because I'm going to the high school next year anyway” Cade Bear has said in an interview. Most other students in the school have said the same thing but teachers on the other hand are scared for their future.

This is hard on a lot of the teachers here at the 8/9, “It makes me sad, I don't think it was thought out by the people above us at the board office,” Mrs. Weathers told us in an interview. Her opinion also runs in line with many other school administrators and other faculty members. The adults of Fruita 8/9 are very disheartened to hear about their occupational loss.

Some people don’t want the changes that will come with this, Miles Mason a freshman at Fruita 8/9 says, “I feel that the school should stay open because this has been a good school for me and it feels better that the freshmen are separated from all of the upperclassmen.” This is important to consider because some parents and other people don't feel that the younger kids should be with the much older kids, as the maturity level is much different.

A former Fruita student speaks from his experience, Jamie Sharpe says, “I like that they want to move the freshmen with the rest of the high schoolers because it will help all of these young kids get toughened up.” This has been a popular opinion with many people, especially those who have attended a high school like this.

This decision by the school board is going to affect a lot of different people, including the students and staff. Everyone just hopes it works out for all the people involved.