Faced with the double-whammy of falling student enrollment and less funding, the Leon County School Board is looking at possible school closings and consolidations. Board Member Alva Smith expressed her view at the meeting of January 13.
"But as a district, from a financial standpoint and to do the best for all our children, we really need to look at those numbers and respond accordingly."
But Board Colleague Rosanne Wood argued each school closing would save only a small fraction of the district's total spending.
"Closing a school would save about a million dollars; sometimes less, sometimes more. That's worth .002 percent of our budget."
She also insisted the trauma to students, parents and the community wouldn't justify the savings. The School Board holds a January 26th all-day retreat to consider this issue among many others.
