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The Dallas County School Board decided not to close J.E. Terry Elementary School at a Special Called Meeting on Dec. 12. Dallas County Superintendent Anthony Sampson had recommended closing the school and the school board didn’t act on that suggestion.

“Thank you to the Dallas County Board of Education board members, the community, the faculty/staff, parents, and students for all your support and believing in the work being done at J.E. Terry,” J.E. Terry representatives said in a statement.

We’re not upset that Sampson recommended the school’s closure because it only has 72 students. Sampson had a view from a financial perspective and low number of students. Sampson has numerous responsibilities as Superintendent. The Dallas County School District has 12 schools and serves over 2,200 students.

In that same position, many of us probably would have acted as Sampson did. We felt that Sampson was in a no-win situation and we don’t blame him for laying the cards on the table for the school board.

The people who criticize Sampson for doing may not realize the impact of making a decision that affects a school and its community. It’s easy to criticize a person trying to do the right thing. Whenever someone tries to make a big move, not everybody will be happy.

We often receive criticism for decisions on news coverage, but we move forward with producing a strong local newspaper. We applaud Anthony Sampson for his courage in trying to do the right thing.