Parent warns board that closing McCall classroom displaces students, strains teachers and highlights building-condition complaints

A McCall parent, Kristen Witt, addressed the Waukegan Board of Education during public comment to urge reconsideration of a decision to close a classroom that served 19 students. Witt said she was “disappointed, but I am outraged,” that district officials would deem 19 students "not enough" to keep a classroom open and said the closure forces some students to travel to other buildings, requiring special busing for about 10 children. She also said the decision displaced a teacher who had prepared over the summer and that remaining teachers would face larger, crowded classrooms; Witt described some district buildings as having visible mold, broken bathrooms, leaking ceilings, unreliable air conditioning and unsafe playgrounds while other spaces — she cited the meeting room used for the board session as an example — receive more resources. Witt asked the board to reconsider and said families and teachers deserve stability and attention; board members did not act on her request during the meeting because the matter was raised in public comment rather than as an action item.