The Union School District board voted 7-2 on Thursday to close Rimersburg Elementary School after the current school year, and with the vote came closure on a discussion that had been going on for months.
Superintendent John Kimmel told the newspaper on Friday that the condition of the building, which is more than 50 years old, and the school’s declining population were factors in the decision.
Sligo Elementary School will house students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with sixth-grade students being incorporated into the junior high school program. Kindergarten through second grade are currently at Rimersburg Elementary.
Kimmel said there had been concern over mixing sixth-grade students in with the high school students at the junior-senior high school. The hope is to place sixth-grade students “on a unique schedule.”
According to Kimmel, there will not be any reduction in the professional staff, but there could be reductions in the supplemental positions.
“We haven’t completely gotten into those conversations yet,” he said.
The administration, Kimmel said, will work on new teacher assignments, and custodial staff will begin moving items from Rimersburg Elementary to Sligo Elementary after the official end of the current school year. Teachers will be able to set up their new rooms starting in June.
“It was recommended that we sell it, but when you sell it you have no control over what it will be used for in the future. At the same time, you don’t want to keep paying to maintain a building you are not using.”
The Union School District has an enrollment of 576 students, including 254 students in the elementary program.