EXETER TOWNSHIP -- A school board in Luzerne County is calling the closing of an elementary school the most difficult decision it has made in years.
The Wyoming Area School District cites financial reasons for closing Sarah J. Dymond Elementary School.
Some are calling it a major loss for the Exeter Township community because it means the end of their only neighborhood school.
A deteriorating roof and a boiler that needs to be replaced are just some of the costly repairs Sarah J. Dymond School would need to keep operating.
Those problems, along with declining enrollment, have left several classrooms vacant. Wyoming Area School Board members say they are forced to shut it down.
"This was a difficult decision. This was a terrible, terrible decision that we had to make," said school board president Elizabeth Gober-Mangan. "Nobody wants to shut down a school. Nobody wants to reroute children."
Most students will be rerouted to schools between 10 and 15 minutes away. That means this quiet but close-knit community near Exeter is without a neighborhood school.
"I feel sad because it was a nice school," said Margaret Coolbaugh. "It was like a little country school."
Coolbaugh's three daughters went to Sarah J. Dymond. She was hoping her granddaughter would, too. Her neighbor grew up in the school's hallways, too. She's now in college studying education.
"If I was ever had the opportunity as an elementary school teacher, I would have definitely liked to have worked there!" said Rebecca Zielen.
After school leaders shut the building down, the district will then try to sell the school and the land around it.
"The savings initially aren't very much, but long term, it's not putting in $300,000 into that building to get it back into shape," said Gober-Mangan.
"I haven't heard anything about exactly what it's going to be, but I'll miss the school behind us. It was nice and quiet to have the school there," Zielen added.
Sarah J. Dymond Elementary is expected to close at the end of the school year.
The district is not planning for any layoffs. Teachers will be transferred to other schools.
