Jersey Shore Area School Board votes 6-3 to close Salladasburg Elementary School

Salladasburg Primary School. SUNGAZETTE FILE PHOTO

JERSEY SHORE – Emotions were running high and tempers were high after the Jersey Shore Area School board voted 6-3 to close Salladasburg Elementary School.

Promises from parents to pull their children from the district schools and threats to vote out the current board in next year’s elections followed the decision that, while quick, had been years in the making.

School closings have been a topic in the district for some time, although a vote last year by former board members might have led parents in the district to think the issue had been resolved. The students had been moved to the smaller building in Salladasburg to make the classes more even and everyone was told it was time to move on. But a new board sworn in early this year quickly revived the issue, and after a 90-day cooling-off period that ended with the vote this week, closure became a reality for students and teachers in Salladasburg.

To say that parents were unhappy with the decision would understate the situation.

“You made a comment about how much emotion there is here,” said district parent Brandi Carothers.

“How can we not be emotional about our children? These are our children and their best interest is what is at stake here, not the dollar amount you save.” she said.

The amount of money saved by the closure of Salladasburg was estimated at just over $800,000, but parents claimed that this amount will be offset by the costs incurred when some students are moved out of the district to attend charter and cyber charter schools to go. The cost to the district could be more than $600,000 for 50 students.

An argument for keeping the Salladasburg school open was its smaller size. Parents liked that the staff there knew their children and interacted with them. They fear that if the 200 students are absorbed into the larger Jersey Shore Elementary School, they will be lost.

The frustration of parents both before and after the vote was clear. They argued that the board did not listen to them and did not do what they wanted, which was to keep the school running.

A petition circulating in the district in favor of keeping Salladasburg open had been signed by more than 400 parents.

“I wonder why the 433 votes of people who signed the petition not to close the school do not carry any weight,” said Lauren Crouch, a district parent. “Do they matter?”

Like many parents, Crouch urged the board to put students first and not focus so much on finances.

‘They have to matter first’ Crouch said.

“To each of you,” she told the school board: “It seems like all the talk about buildings and borrowing and spending money and all the back and forth between the parties over the last few years, somehow the kids have gotten lost in the mix for the last time and what it means for them is best, has not been a priority. ”

Another issue mentioned by both sides – for and against closure – was the safety of schools. Parents argued that in the event of an emergency, students were safer at the Salladasburg school, which occupies one floor and can be easily exited, unlike Jersey Shore Elementary (JSE), which has two floors.

However, board member Jessie Edwards said she believed that having students in the district at JSE would make first responders’ response times faster, making that a safer location.

Once the vote was taken, and only board members Michael Allen, Kayla Calhoun and Mary Thomas were on the side of keeping the school open, the room erupted with frustrated parents leaving. Others stayed to express their anger.

Raye Bierly, a community resident who has spoken out about her opposition to the closure at previous meetings, said she feels sad about the board’s decision because the students who will be affected have been through many things during their educational journey.

“What makes me sad about this vote to close Salladasburg or Avis or any school is the fact that this is happening for our COVID children – our children whose lives have already been disrupted by the COVID pandemic. Children are falling behind and trying to catch up and you put another block in their way by expecting them to transition to a completely new environment. And that just makes me very sad,” Bierley said.

Bierly also accused the board of a lack of respect for parents.

“My parents taught me that respect is a two-way street and that respect is earned. It is not just given and it is not necessarily something you will have forever.” Bierley said.

“Think of us,” Bierley said. “We sit here in these meetings, month, week, over and over again and bring good questions, hard questions and we are greeted with nothing, empty situations, people fumbling around with their papers and never getting answers to these questions. Is that respect for us?”

One resident urged everyone to look ahead to December, when the government reorganizes, in the hope that a new president will be elected.

“We need someone from this board, whoever it is, to step up and bring this community back together to move forward,” he said.

The closure will occur at the end of the current school year and students from Salladasburg will be transferred to JSE for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

Board members who voted in favor of closure were: Cheri Peters, Bill Pfirman, Tim Mc Donnell, Michelle Stemler, Harry Brungard and Edwards.