/

Weld majority says close the school

1 min read

WELD – By nearly a 2 to 1 margin, voters decided to close Weld Elementary School in a written ballot held from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

In what must have been a tough decision to make, 67 voters checked the “yes” box to authorize the MSAD 9 to close the school while 36 voted “no” against closing it. The 103 voters who turned out in the four-hour voting period to cast their ballot represented one-third the majority of the 360 registered voter total, said a town official tonight.

The vote by town residents was a necessary step before the state Department of Education will allow a school to be closed. A public hearing was held two weeks ago following an earlier decision by the MSAD 9 board of directors to close the 13-student school. The school has educated Weld’s children in grades K-6 since 1962. Students will now be bused to the Wilton schools 15 miles to the east.

The residents of Weld were faced with the heavy burden of paying the $103,000 that would have been saved by the district in addition to the $594,610 that the town already pays to educate its 45 K-12 students in MSAD 9 schools. Weld has 1.9 percent of the total students in MSAD 9, but has 8.4 percent of the property valuation of the district.

MSAD 9 director Neil Stinneford of Weld spoke at a public hearing on closing Weld Elementary School noting he believes Weld’s students will benefit by what the Wilton school can offer.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.