At Thursday night’s special voting meeting, the Blairsville-Saltsburg School Board held a preliminary vote to determine the fate of the Saltsburg Middle-High School and the road ahead.
The meeting started with a public comment section, which featured testimonials from district parents from both Blairsville and Saltsburg. The board then proposed the motion to either consolidate the district or to keep the schools separate.
Board members Linda Brown, Beverly Caranese and Holly Hall spoke out against the motion. Caranese referenced the meeting date, which was held during Saltsburg’s musical. She said it excluded 120 district members that could’ve spoke out during the public comment period, but couldn’t.
Brown said during her comment period that students are struggling to keep up with asynchronous learning, so now is not the time to bind the two schools.
Ultimately, the motion passed, 6-3, with the votes against coming from Brown, Caranese and Hall. Towards the end of the meeting, board president Rick Harper announced the first goal for the district to work on: getting new school colors, mascots, etc.
Harper adds that the current model of the district was simply not sustainable going forward due to declining enrollment and hardships to taxpayers. He said this decision was the first step of a long journey.
With the motion passing, the Saltsburg Middle-High School will close effective June 11.
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