GAINESVILLE - While the closing of Hall County's Jones Elementary School is not a "done deal," it is a very real possibility as the school system searches for ways to plug an ever-deepening budget hole.
Schools superintendent Will Schofield said one positive about closing Jones Elementary is that the students would not be relocated to elementary schools all over the county.
"They could be handled in one campus or two at the most," Schofield said. "What you'd like to do is keep those cohorts of students together as much as possible."
He also noted that the teaching staff would retain their jobs, moving with students to their new campuses.
Schofield said at Monday night's meeting that three elementary schools are being considered for potential consolidation: Riverbend, McEver, and Jones.
He said that Jones Elementary only has 350 students, and within five miles of the school were other schools with over 750 vacant desks. Also, the school was built in 1949 and needs $350,000 worth of improvements.
While appearing Tuesday morning on WDUN's The Local Hour, Schofield said the overall savings of closing Jones Elementary would total over $1 million.
Friday
October 18th, 2024
2:27AM
