SCRANTON, Pa. — The gymnasium at William Prescott Elementary in East Scranton was filled for the last of three town hall meetings for community members to give feedback on the Scranton School District's proposed reconfiguration plan.
"Information that they have to give us to help us make this decision is very beneficial," said Scranton School Board Director Carol Cleary. "The more we hear and the more ideas and the more problems, it was like, oh, I didn't think of that, so it's been very helpful. I'm glad I got to attend all three of them."
In the district's reconfiguration plan, three elementary schools -John Adams, Charles Sumner, and William Prescott would all be closed.
According to school reports, this would see some 600 students relocated to other elementary centers across the district.
William Prescott is part of phase two of the reconfiguration plan and would close at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
All students would then be combined with Robert Morris Elementary in Green Ridge.
Laura Agostini says putting more students into Robert Morris could impact the community around them.
"Adding 200 hundred students means adding additional staff; there's no parking now for the Robert Morris staff; where do you intend for the staff to park? on Columbia taking parking away from homeowners," said Agostini.
Kindergarten teacher at William Prescott, Erin Moore, thinks the change could affect an already successful learning environment.
"Please don't change what works well," said Moore. "We are the recipient of the blue ribbon award of excellence; we perform well in comparison to other schools in our district."
School board officials admit that there is still a lot to discuss regarding the future of the three elementary centers.
"They are very difficult decisions, and I think a lot of people already think a decision has been made, and it hasn't been made," said Cleary.
School officials say they expect to vote on the reconfiguration plan sometime in April.
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