After a 4-1 vote of the local school board, Valley Springs Elementary will be closing after this school year.
This comes weeks after the Brandon Valley School District first floated the early closure of the school.
The district originally planned to close the school next year, the same year a new school was set to be finished. Budget issues pushed the closure up a year and delayed the opening of the new school until 2026.
“I understand the numbers – they don’t lie," said school board member Nick Scott, the lone "no" vote on the issue. "I also understand there is multiple reasons why we are at these crossroads – but I do not understand or agree with the process of some of these things that have been taken on. I remember being a student there 30 years ago and the comment was ‘we’re going to close Valley.’ Again, I respect everyone on this board, but with a heavy heart I will not be voting for the closure of Valley.
Valley Springs has a student population less than 100, and those kids will be reassigned to other schools in the district.