Pocono News Section

Northwest Board Votes to Close Garrison Elementary

Northwest Board Votes to Close Garrison Elementary - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 04:12AM EST

Reported by: Eyewitness News
Wednesday May 12 2010
SHICKSHINNY, LUZERNE COUNTY - Northwest Area School District will close one of its three elementary schools at the end of the school year. The school board voted 6-to-2 with one abstention to close Garrison Memorial -- a decision that will cause a ripple effect throughout the district.

Parents, grandparents and students are stunned after Tuesday night's Northwest Area School Board vote. Garrison Memorial School will close for good when summer vacation begins - leaving just Huntington Mills and Hunlock Creek as the only elementary schools in the district. The board did it to close a nearly $400,000 budget shortfall.

"I don't like the idea 'cause I was hoping he could stay here till 6th grade," said Erma Titus of Shickshinny as she discussed her grandson's future. She and her husband Charles walked their grandson, Ashton, to pre-school at Garrison Memorial Tuesday morning. It's the same school the couple's children attended when they were younger. But with the pending closing, the district is considering sending students in kindergarten through 2nd grade to Huntinton Mills and 3rd through 6th graders to Hunlock Creek.

"They're talking a lot of kids from a lot of different places they've gotta transfer around," said Charles Titus. "The ones that were going out here to Huntington are going to be going over to Hunlock Creek and the ones from Hunlock Creek are going to be going over to Huntington and the ones from here are going to be going to two different places. You know, it's going to be scary." Carl Dohl of Shickshinny attended Garrison as a child. His fianc 's 4-year-old son, Devin, won't have that option come the fall semester. "So now they're going to be broken up from all their classmates for 3-years and then go somewhere else for three years," said Dohl. "That doesn't even make sense."

With the closing of Garrison Memorial comes the prospect of job losses. Some teachers and staff members could see their jobs on the line. Garrison Memorial school nurse Doreen Tasco is uncertain if she'll be able to keep hers. "We don't know. We're hoping for the best and hope they made the right decision."

Indications are that two teachers and up to four staff members will be laid off.

Northwest Area School District will transfer equipment and furniture out of Garrison Memorial to the other two elementary schools during summer vacation to prepare for the transition.