LAWRENCE, Kan. — Parents in Lawrence are pushing back against the potential that the district will close two schools to cut the budget.

On Monday night, board members voted to move forward with closure hearings for Broken Arrow and Pinckney elementary schools.

“It’s devastating,” parent Kiley Phelps said.

“It’s just really hard to be in that limbo period not knowing what’s going to happen,” parent Kaelyn McCall said.

Some parents argue closing Broken Arrow will erase history.

“They donated land for the purpose of having an elementary school and a middle school built on this property so that their community and their families would have access to walkable schools,” Phelps said.

The district’s website says in 1968, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs donated the land through Haskell Indian Nations University.

The school’s name is considered a sign of peace and was suggested to honor the land’s Native American background.

“It feels like it’s a slap in the face to the Indian nation,” Phelps said.

FOX4 reached out to Lawrence Public Schools about these concerns. The district said: “If the board does decide to close the facility, the board and administration have no plans to use it for anything other than educational purposes that continue to serve the community.”

We also reached out to the director of the Indian Affairs bureau. They responded, but we’re waiting for a statement.