BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – Bedford County Schools is seeing some pushback from parents and teachers after the school board decided to weigh several ‘efficiency options’ for the future of schools in the area.
The district is considering closing a school and possibly merging others. At a recent school board meeting, board members were notified of four different options to consider.
You can view the options below:
One thing is consistent with all options, the closure of Stewartsville Elementary School.
On Thursday, parents and teachers showed up to the first of three town halls scheduled to give feedback on the options.
Amanda Ergenbright who teaches at Stewartsville is worried for her students.
“We know our students. We love our students. If they are sent to a new school, a lot of kids are not going to do well with that. It’s going to be hard for them. It’s going to be hard for their families,” Ergenbright.
It was a similar message for a lot of parents at the town hall as well.
“A maintained school is something very simple. It’s not much to ask for. These teachers are irreplaceable,” one parent said.
The hope is through the town halls, the school board will be able to make up their minds on an option or potentially a combination.
“We can choose one of those four options, we can choose nothing or we can choose a combination of those. Our executive team gave us options based off our request and that’s all they are ... they’re options.” School Board Chairman Marcus Hill said.
The upcoming town halls will be at these locations from 4:30 to 8 p.m.:
- Tuesday, March 5: Jefferson Forest High School
- Tuesday, March 19: Staunton River High School