The Perry County (Ky.) school board has voted 3-2 to consolidate Leatherwood Elementary and Elementary schools.
The Hazard Herald reports that students who have been attending Leatherwood Elementary in Leatherwood will now attend Viper Elementary in Viper.
"I've prayed about it, and nobody wants to close it, but I think that's the only choice we have," said board member Johnny Feltner. "We're losing students every year."
Board member Berl Hurt, with tears in his eyes, explained the difficulty of making this decision as he voted against the consolidation.
"At first, I was a ‘Yes' vote, but after seeing the love for that community and that school, it's definitely a ‘No' vote. We have to get to work on South Perry. It's not fair to these kids to be transferred to another school, only to be transferred again in a few years," said Hurt.
Mary Osborne, a parent of students at Leatherwood, expressed her disappointment with the outcome.
"I think the parents are going to be distraught over this,” she said. “I was very shocked by the vote. We really believed our school would remain open. We thought we had board members who cared, but obviously, we don’t.”
