The Jersey Shore Area School District’s Board is considering closing the Salladasburg Elementary School. School leaders are pointing to the cost of building repairs, but many parents who spoke at Monday’s special meeting want the school to stay open.
Benjamin Gamble, who has two children in the district, is disappointed the school board is revisiting the topic of closing the school.
“I would implore the board to remember the reason that the distributed small elementary schools are there," Gamble said. "They're there to reduce commute times for elementary age students, to provide a much more personal and small class size for, you know, better one-on-one interaction.”
Last year, the school board voted not to close Salladasburg Elementary School. The board chose to redistribute class size to share the load between elementary schools. But now they’re revisiting that decision, citing escalating repair costs.
If the board does decide to consolidate, Salladasburg would close at the end of the 2024-25 school year. Students would move to the Jersey Shore Middle School or the Avis Elementary building.
Former board member Wayne Kinley said he can appreciate the concerns people have about school consolidation, but urged everyone to take a look at what he called “the bigger picture.”
“I've heard comments that, you know, why don't we raise taxes? The number one issue when I ran for school board and during my four years: we can't afford any more taxes,” Kinley said.
Kinley said the Jersey Shore School District already has one of the highest millage rates in Lycoming County. He said consolidating is a common way for school districts to save money and avoid putting a further burden on taxpayers. The district is in Clinton and Lycoming counties.
The board cannot take any action for 90 days, until after Nov. 5. The board plans to release a frequently asked questions sheet.
