We just closed five schools last week. We better go with Ray and Associates with the lower bid.

That is what happened last year when we closed some schools. Many families left the district. I would like families to call our office before moving to a charter school. We would like to work with them.

I think it's a difficult day that we have to close schools under these circumstances. We need a plan of action to go forward.

We want to continue our academic improvement plan that we already have in place. And we know we need somebody who will be happy to involve the community in the decisions -- and motivate our staff and work with our staff.

I went to something like six different schools before the age of 12, so I was always the new girl and had to make friends quickly. It was difficult at the start because I was very bookish - I was literally sat in the corner reading books, with no friends.

It is not inevitable that our schools have incidents like this. We can make our schools even safer,