New chairperson, Brevard school board hear more pleas from families to keep Cape View open

In a meeting that was overwhelmingly filled with calls for a school facing possible closure to remain open, the Brevard school board elected a new chairperson and vice chairperson who will be dealing with familiar and unresolved topics.

At the top of the meeting, the board unanimously voted Matt Susin in as chairperson and Megan Wright as vice chair. The two served in the same capacities from November 2022 to November 2023.

The meeting quickly turned to recent hot topics, including concerns about the potential consolidation of Cape View Elementary in Cape Canaveral with Roosevelt Elementary School in Cocoa Beach.

Members of the public who rallied in the parking lot and held a food drive to benefit the school ahead of the meeting brought their grievances and concerns inside, with community members, students and parents speaking for nearly an hour in a half in support of keeping the school open.

"I don't think it can be overstated the negative effects that this will have," mom Melissa Bass said of the potential school closure. "Our kids are whole human beings and they don't deserve to suffer from this change. They deserve better from us, from all of us."

Cape View 'more than just a school'

Public commenters were all in favor of keeping Cape View open , with many sharing personal stories of how the school had impacted their families.

For some, like Bruce Robertson — who attended Cape View as a kid and now has a granddaughter enrolled at the school — Cape View is part of their history.

Clifford Smith spoke of how his daughter with epilepsy excelled at Cape View.

"She was very far behind because of school time she missed, and they helped walk us through everything and get her where she is caught up with her peers," he said. "The staff and administration there has been excellent. They really listen and care about the needs of the kids, and that's just very different than most places."

And for others, like Kilian Lattig, the school is an everyday part of their life now. Kilian, a student, said the school is the reason why his family moved to the area about two years ago.

"We go to this school because it's an A-rated school and it's close," he said. "I just want to say this school is more than just a school. It's the only school in this community, and to shut it down means there will be none left."

Board 'committed to trying to make the right decision'

No decisions were made regarding Cape View at the meeting — and none are scheduled to be made until early 2026. Still, the board reassured speakers that they appreciated the feedback and that none of them were looking forward to the possibility of closing the school.

"Obviously, we're not voting on it tonight," Katye Campbell said, adding that there were multiple work sessions where the potential closure had been discussed if people wanted to seek out more information on the topic. "This is the process."

She added that, should consolidation take place with Roosevelt, there would be enough teachers to prevent overcrowded classrooms from being an issue, a concern multiple parents raised over the course of the evening.

Regarding traffic concerns, Susin said not all students would be on the road at the same time because elementary, middle and high school start at different times. He thanked the public for coming to address the board about the potential closure.

"This board is committed to trying to make the right decision," he said. "Thank you to everybody who came here to speak tonight and actually took the time to speak to this item in a very well-thought out way."

Board member Gene Trent agreed, adding that part of the decision-making process was getting feedback from the community. He added that the "tsunami" of Airbnbs is contributing to low enrollment and encouraged the public to help come up with a way to solve the issue.

"Please come up with a viable solution that we can add a couple hundred students to both schools," he said. "Other than that, the students will suffer."

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at  fwalker@floridatoday.com . X:  @_finchwalker . Instagram:  @finchwalker_ .

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Families keep pressure on Brevard school board to keep Cape View open