Elyria High School students walk out to protest ICE raids, teacher cuts

Hundreds leave class to oppose immigration enforcement, $9 million school budget shortfall

ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO) - Hundreds of Elyria High School students walked out of class Wednesday morning to protest ICE immigration raids and cuts to public school funding.

The walkout began at 8:39 a.m. Senior Dekarion Wimberly organized the protest.

“I think, on my behalf, the objective was to empower the student body and show them that they can use the voice they do have — even if adults outside this building don’t think we have one,” Wimberly said.

Budget cuts put 45 teachers at risk

Students said they are also fighting to keep their teachers. Last month, the Elyria School Board approved $9 million in cuts. Forty-five teachers are set to be eliminated next school year, along with other staff members.

“Here, we have safe teachers — teachers you can go to at any time. If those teachers aren’t in the building, that impacts a significant population of students who rely on having someone to talk to, as well as programs that might not exist next year,” Wimberly said.

Students say protest was planned, organized

Senior Xander Frisch said the walkout was the result of significant preparation.

“This isn’t just another walkout. We put a lot of time and effort into this. It took hard work, and I was very happy with the turnout we had today,” Frisch said.

Student Elisha White said the message behind the protest is direct.

“What’s happening is not right. The violence is unnecessary. There are better ways to handle this than hurting fathers in front of their children,” White said.

District supervised but did not endorse walkout

Students warned the administration about the walkout ahead of time. The district chose to supervise rather than stop it. The school did not endorse the protest but praised students for how they handled it.

Participation was voluntary, and the district said no instructional time was lost. Students protested for nearly 10 minutes before returning to class.

Wimberly said students plan to remain engaged beyond Wednesday’s demonstration.

“Along with letting our legislators know how we feel — we will be voting in the midterms and every election after that. We will be holding them accountable, because we have the power over their jobs,” Wimberly said.

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