Closing an Elementary School Could Be Put On Hold

The is considering a move that would halt — or at least postpone — the closing of one of its elementary schools by 2014.

At the on Thursday, superintendent Jeff Patterson proposed holding off a decision, based on the growing student population entering the district.

“If we close an elementary school (now) we could fit all the students in our schools now,” Patterson said. “Our number of students is growing significantly, and we might not be able to do that (in the future).”

The school board had previously voted — as part of the — to shutter , but Patterson said last month he’d like see which school “makes the most sense” to close.

The district was set to consider closing Grant, and elementary schools, however the final decision wasn’t expected until August. 

Closing any one of the schools would likely save the district about $400,000, said Rick Berdine, the district’s treasurer, who is set to resign at the end of the month.

But on Thursday, Patterson urged the board to consider asking the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission for another enrollment projection.

The board seemed open to the idea, although no official decision was reached.

Board member Ed Favre noted that the housing market is turning around, and agreed that it couldn’t hurt to ask the OSFC to conduct another projection.

“It’d be nice if we could determine where the influx of students is going to be,” Favre added.