Board votes to close Haywood County school
CLYDE - Despite pleas for more time, a divided Haywood County school board voted Tuesday night to close Central Elementary in Waynesville.
“I believe our board has done a tremendous job looking at all solutions other than closing Central Elementary School, and they simply do not exist,” board chair Chuck Francis said.
Francis has a grandchild that attends the school. “I’m looking at my grandson’s teacher right now,” he said before the vote.
The board voted 6-2 to close the school. Board members Rhonda Schandevel and Jimmy Rogers were the two members voting against the closure.
Officials say the N.C. Department of Public Instruction must now sign off on the decision.
Haywood County school officials say funding cuts and fewer students in Haywood schools have forced the district to make cuts.
The opening of a charter school this school year contributed to already declining enrollment.
The district is trying to make up an expected $2.4 million budget deficit. Officials already announced a number of cuts including eliminating 22 teaching positions.
During an emotional hearing last month, parents urged school officials not to close the school.
Parents and staff turned out again Tuesday, filling the board meeting room and standing against the walls and in the hallway.
“I can’t say enough how much I’m begging you guys to give us more time before you make this decision,” said Chris Williamson. “Nobody is forcing your hand.”
“We know our children best, and we want to keep our students at our school,” Williamson said.
But school board members say the school district has already used a large chunk of its fund balance.
Board member Jim Harley Francis said school budgets have been cut since 2008. He called the decision to close Central “the toughest decision I’ve had to make.”
Some in the room began to cry when the motion to close the school was made.
After the meeting, parent and local attorney Mark Melrose called the decision “disappointing and devastating.”
Melrose was escorted out of the meeting after he refused to stop speaking when his three minutes were up during the public comment period.
He said some parents are considering legal action to challenge the board’s decision. They are questioning the study the school district did and whether it followed the legal requirements.
Melrose said he believes board members had made up their mind before they voted in January to consider closing the school.
“Why was not a single parent, student, teacher informed that this was even a prospect on the horizon before they dropped the bombshell?” he said following the meeting.