Are closing schools the right decision?

NO ONE LIKES IT WHEN A SCHOOL is closed. It’s disruptive for students and sometimes for entire communities. Yet sometimes, closing a school is unavoidable and, in the long run, can be the right thing to do.

But, there can be negative effects on the community as well — as too often shuttered schools turn into abandoned eyesores and targets for vandalism.

We know of several dilapidated former schools in the Mon Valley that are a sad reminder of the past — when our population supported community elementary schools and the steel mills were booming.

Sadly, those days are gone. Neither the population nor the mills are coming back.

The Elizabeth Forward School Board is faced with making decisions to consolidate schools and close several elementary schools — a decision that will impact the future of the district for generations to come.

Due to a devastating fire at the high school in 2023, the district has been renovating the building and planning for the future of the district.

Residents packed the school board’s meeting Wednesday night as a vote was taken on Phase 2 of the project, which calls for adding classrooms and corresponding additional grade capacity at the high school.

Phase 2 also calls for the consolidation of all the district’s current elementary schools into one school due to declining enrollment rates and increasing costs of maintaining the old buildings.

The district’s possible consolidation would include additional construction to the high school and would add seventh and eighth graders in their own separate two-level wing behind the high school that wraps around the pool. Kindergarten and first grade would attend the current Central Elementary and grades second through sixth would attend the current Elizabeth Forward Middle School. The other elementary schools, Greenock/Mt. Vernon and William Penn in Forward Township, would be put up for sale by the district. Residents at Wednesday’s meeting tried to sway board members to delay their vote or change their minds on the topic. Many are concerned about class sizes, long bus rides and the financial effects on district taxpayers — all of which are valid concerns.

While the school board voted on several contracts for work related to Phase 2, they did not take action on the school consolidation plan as it was not on the agenda.

Perhaps they didn’t put it on the agenda to vote on the school closures because they were greeted by such a large audience of unhappy parents, or they are waiting for the new board members to take action in January.

Time will tell.

But, in the meantime, we think it’s great that many parents and concerned citizens are finally showing up to school board meetings to voice their opinions rather than just leaving comments on social media.

However, these plans have been in the works for two years. The district — to their credit — hosted two community town halls to talk about the plans. During the first town hall in March 2024, three residents showed up. During an April 2024 town hall, about 40 residents attended, which was an improvement, but still low considering the impact of the project.

The architect renderings and construction updates, with all of the costs outlined, are updated regularly on the district’s website for the public to see. The information has been out there, and this newspaper has been covering the developments from the beginning.

We’ll continue to be there as the district moves forward and we encourage EF community members to do the same.

The decisions being made now will affect generations of our kids for years to come.