A lawsuit that would have stopped the reorganization of the Blairsville-Saltsburg School District was dismissed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.
According to documents from the Western PA District of the United States District Court, the lawsuit brought by Save our Saltsburg Schools against the Blairsville-Saltsburg School District has been dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning that the case has been dismissed permanently.
The group brought the lawsuit after the Blairsville-Saltsburg School Board voted to consolidate the district’s middle-senior high schools and have all middle and high school students taught at the Blairsville campus, while the Saltsburg Middle High School building would be turned into a STEAM academy for the district.
The group was against the move as it felt it would be detrimental to its children’s education by having them bused to the Blairsville campus, and that the closure of the Saltsburg Middle-High School would have a negative impact on the Saltsburg business community.
The court said the reason why the case was dismissed was due to a lack of jurisdiction.
Attorney Joel Sansone, representing Save our Saltsburg Schools, said that the dismissal was disappointing but not unexpected.
Blairsville-Saltsburg Superintendent Philip Martel was happy with the decision from the District Court, but added he is expecting an appeal.
Sansone said that that Save Our Saltsburg Schools would continue to pursue their current lawsuit at the state court level and go to the circuit court level for an appeal of the dismissal of federal charges.
As of right now, the district can move forward with reorganization plans, including re-naming the district the River Valley School District, which is slated to go into effect July 1st.
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