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Shock in Tunkhannock as District Moves to Close Schools

TUNKHANNOCK — People in a school district in Wyoming County are shocked after the Tunkhannock Area School Board voted Thursday night to close three of the...
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TUNKHANNOCK -- People in a school district in Wyoming County are shocked after the Tunkhannock Area School Board voted Thursday night to close three of the four elementary schools.

The consolidation has been in the works for some time, but many are still surprised by the decision.

The superintendent confirmed that the Tunkhannock Area School District will be closing three of its four elementary schools. The vote to close the schools came at a school board meeting Thursday night.

The closings won't begin until the 2018/2019 school year.

School officials say there has been a steady drop in the number of students over the past decade. Closing the schools will save the district more than $5 million dollars over the next five years.

"The primary goal is to improve education across Tunkhannock and there is no way to do that with kids separated across the county," said school board member Holly Arnold.

With kids in Kindergarten through second grade beginning at the Roslund Elementary School and continuing through the new school system, the school superintendent believes it will better prepare students for college and the workforce.

Third through six graders will have classes in the current middle school building.

The seventh grade will now be located at the administration building.

Grades eight through 12 will now be at the high school.

"We want Tunkhannock to be a destination district and we need to re-envision how we do that because we cannot teach 21st-century kids with 20th-century methods and techniques," said Arnold.

Parents tell Newswatch 16 they are concerned about class size and taking their kids to school.

"I like the little schools," said Tunkhannock resident Joyce Olmstead. "The kids get way more attention than with a larger group."

"We just have to be as positive as we can, don't put negative energy on our kids and make it the best we can and change is never easy for any of us," said Tunkhannock resident Kelly Fry.

There is no word what will happen to these soon-to-be vacant buildings

The Tunkhannock Area School District will hold a meeting next Thursday which will be open to the public.

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