On May 2, Parents for Batchelder spoke to the Connecticut State Board of Education and asked Commissioner Wentzell to investigate the unlawful and immoral closure of the almost all Black and Latina Batchelder School in order to give the school to the whiter, more affluent Montessori Magnet School. Parents also asked CT SDE to keep the school open as the investigation happens.

Kamara Brown, a Batchelder parent, shared her comments. She asked Commissioner Wentzell and the State Board of Education:

I would love for you guys to step in and help us keep our neighborhood school open, Batchelder is so convenient to me because I live and work in that neighborhood. I walk to and from school everyday with my kid. There was no information about the school closing until Dec. 19 over the news, not parent was informed. Hartford Board said one of the reasons (to close Batchelder) is because the school is under enrolled. That’s a lie. We have have over 400 and more kids at Batchelder.

See her comments and video of Kamara and other parents below.