The complaint alleges the decision to close the school discriminates against students on the basis of race, color or national origin, according to a Department of Education spokesman.

Red Cedar Elementary School is the closest elementary to MSU campus and Spartan Village Apartments, home to many of the university’s international students. Board members determined its closure was the most viable option for the district at its Sept. 26 meeting as part of a proposed plan to renovate and reconfigure the district’s other five elementary schools, basing their decision primarily on U.S. Census population data.

The school district was asked by the Office of Civil Rights, or OCR, to compile meeting minutes, enrollment data, study results and other material used by the board to determine its decision, East Lansing Superintendent Dave Chapin said.

The investigation initially was launched last week, and the district has until Nov. 23 to respond to the request.

Chapin said the district is happy to comply with the investigation and hopes to see the results of the inquiry air out the concerns among community members.

However, the fact that an investigation is happening does not in itself constitute grounds for wrongdoing, he said.

“The OCR’s decision to investigate does not imply that a violation has occurred,” Chapin said. “If these concerns are out in the community, then certainly the OCR gives us the perfect forum to address those issues.”

In the past, MSU and East Lansing officials have voiced concern about the school board’s decision to close the school, with both the East Lansing City Council and MSU Vice President for Finance and Operations and Treasurer Fred Poston writing letters to the board to express disagreement with the board decision.

MSU Director of Community Relations Ginny Haas said the university was unaware of the investigation until recently and is interested to see how the situation plays out.

“I’m curious as to who filed the complaint and what comes of it,” Haas said.

Although it is not known who filed the complaint, many members of the East Lansing community have questioned the validity of the board’s decision.

Political science associate professor and East Lansing resident Mike Colaresi said by his interpretation of enrollment data, census data and the location of schools in relation to child population, he does not see a direct reason for the board to mark Red Cedar for closure first.

Although he is unsure whether or not the board’s decision violates the terms of the complaint, Colaresi said the controversial and questionable decision to close the school warrants a second glance.

“When the given facts don’t add up, people are going to look for motives elsewhere,” Colaresi said. “Deciding what to do with the future of the school district is a hard problem, but it doesn’t strike me that anyone’s come up with a good reason as to why (closing Red Cedar) is a good answer.”