<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0xOa53_1GvNZHqo00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0xOa53_1GvNZHqo00" width="800" height="450" >PERRY COUNTY, Pa (WHP) — West Perry School District voted to close Blain Elementary School at its board meeting Monday night.The vote comes as the district said it can’t afford to keep the building anymore, as it faces ongoing declining enrollment.According to a presentation, the district said enrollment has declined by 801 students since the 2006 peak of 2,870. The presentation also said that every building in West Perry School District has seen a consistent decline, and Blain Elementary, with 245 students is the smallest and most cost-inefficient school in the district. The district said the rest of its buildings have enough capacity to absorb the Blain Elementary students if the school is closed. The district also laid out various plans for reorganizing its other schools. According to the resolution, the school board held a public hearing on August 3 to review the proposal with the community. CBS 21 News has previously reported on community member's frustration at consolidation proposals. At the meeting Monday night, many people came to voice opposition to the plan. “It just feels like a very irresponsible, reckless and detrimental decision, and then perhaps the entire community, you'll see by the number of people here, and everyone's emotional because not only is it harmful to the kids," community member Rhonda Brunner said. "Six year old kids on a bus for potentially three hours or more a day. I think that's a long bus ride for even older kids, let alone our youngest learners," community member Evan Snyder said. The school board member vote was not unanimous. Two members called to table the it, and then later spoke against the closure. But other board members said this has already been pushed too far down the line. ""I was a first grader who had an hour long bus ride, and I have never forgotten that on that bus ride, one on a day, I had an accident because I couldn't hold it. I cannot in good conscience put another child in that position," one board member said. "Years of deferred maintenance and declining enrollment have brought us to where we are in the position we are today. Continuing to kick that can down the road does not eliminate the problem, it simply makes the inevitable choices more difficult and potentially more damaging," another board member said. Blain Elementary School will close in June. Students will be redistributed to other schools in the district from there. Those plans have yet to be finalized. </div></body>

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PERRY COUNTY, Pa (WHP) — West Perry School District voted to close Blain Elementary School at its board meeting Monday night. The vote comes as the district said it can’t afford to keep the building anymore, as it faces ongoing declining enrollment. According to a presentation, the district...

West Perry School District votes to close Blain Elementary School

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PERRY COUNTY, Pa (WHP) — West Perry School District voted to close Blain Elementary School at its board meeting Monday night. The vote comes as the distric

West Perry School District votes to close Blain Elementary School

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