Parents and students urge board to keep Greenville Early College together

Members of the public told the Granville County Schools Committee of the Whole that plans to close or relocate Greenville Early College (GEC) would harm students and break a close school community.

Erica Borcovic, a parent of a current GEC 10th grader, said GEC’s appeal is smaller class sizes and close faculty attention and asked whether the board had voted to close the school or explored other county properties if the building owner is selling. "Nobody talked to the parents," she said, and urged the board to consider operating GEC as a magnet to improve recruitment.

Mirelli Lozano Mendoza, a sophomore who said she has attended the program since middle school, called the school a "home" and said moving students to larger high schools would threaten their sense of safety and continuity. She said low enrollment reflects limited promotion, not lack of interest.

Student Carlos Moran said many classmates were "crying" when the closing was announced and asked whether budget constraints explain the decision, and if not, why students could not be relocated together to a new building. He questioned where a local revenue figure cited in discussion was being spent and warned that some receiving high schools have frequent fights and drug‑use issues.

Why it matters: speakers framed GEC as an academically strong program with test scores they described as "in the nineties," emphasizing that the program’s outcomes and tight student‑teacher relationships would be lost if the school is closed or students scattered. Board members did not take immediate action; staff said details about any site sale or formal decisions were not presented during the public‑comment period.

What the board said it will do next: district staff indicated they will follow up with parents as appropriate and that a staff member will be designated to respond to public comments. The board did not vote on closure during the meeting.