There’s a song that Mr. Rogers used to sing to his neighborhood friends: “I like to be told if it’s going to hurt, if it’s going to be hard. If it’s not going to hurt, I like to be told.”

Well, the North Kitsap School District is narrowing down its choices for school closure options, and folks, here’s your warning: It’s going to hurt.

Because of budget cuts, a closure has been on the horizon for a while. Last year, when it looked like it might be happening to my friends in Breidablik, I thought, “So sad. But what do you do?”

Now talks are including — but not limited to — my kids’ school.

One idea being tossed around quite a bit is closing Gordon and making Kingston Middle School a K-8 school. The district talks as if this would be a desirable choice, but with 600 middle-schoolers and 300 elementary children, I have my doubts that it would be a big draw to our community.

The idea of closing Gordon seems odd. Gordon is part of downtown Kingston’s three-campus configuration. Remember about five years ago, when the location for Kingston High School was being chosen? There was controversy about the site, but the school board liked it best because it would create a community of schools in Kingston as there is in Poulsbo: elementary, middle and high schools, all within walking distance. The current thinking seems to be disregarding — and even unaware — of this idea.

I started attending school closure meetings because I couldn’t understand why Gordon would be considered — and I still don’t — but the process really opened my eyes to the heartbreak of the situation.

Closing any of our schools is going to hurt. These are neighborhood schools. Each means a great deal to the families that live in its boundaries. We are fortunate to have these kid-friendly, small-town places of learning.

And, when one school closes, all will feel the impact. Boundaries will change and staff will be shuffled to accommodate the closure.

We need to come together as a district community in coming to this decision. It’s not about protecting our own neighborhood school and throwing another under the bus. It’s looking at a bigger picture, and what is best for the district overall. We don’t want any one area to feel torn apart.

At the first school-closure public forum, Superintendent Patty Page explained where the planning committee is on the project, and then answered questions from community members.

In some cases, emotions were running high. That’s understandable; we all love our schools and recognize their importance to our kids.

Fingers were pointed at the district for having an agenda in place. Maybe, but I have to hope the district is looking out for kids first. It’s not their goal to close an elementary school based on which would make the fanciest district office upgrade. They have the students’ interests at heart above their own. They just need our input to recognize what learning environments will be most suitable to our kids.

So, yes, it’s going to hurt. But like the song says, when we are told, when we are part of the decision, it helps us get ready for whatever is new in our neighborhood.

Remaining forums
— Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m., North Kitsap High School Commons.
— Dec. 12, 6:30 p.m., Kingston Middle School Commons.
— Jan. 16, 6:30 p.m., Poulsbo Middle School Gymnasium.

— Denise Roundy writes the Roundabout column for the Kingston Community News, but wrote this guest column as a concerned parent.