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(Update at the bottom.)
As the Beaufort County School District looks to trim millions from the 2012-13 school year budget, the topic of school closure is alive and well.
(Especially thanks to any hope of a tax increase being denied.)
Right now, a total of eight schools are up for possible elimination: James J. Davis Early Childhood Education Center, Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center, Broad River Elementary, Shell Point Elementary, Shanklin Elementary, Lady's Island Elementary, Port Royal Elementary, and Robert Smalls Middle School.
But school leaders are looking for input on what, who, and how things could proceed with a series of public meetings scheduled, the next of which is tonight, May 26, at 6 p.m. at Battery Creek High School and the following being on Tuesday, May 31, at Beaufort High School at 6 p.m.
I'll shoot you over to The Island Packet's report for a solid rundown (read that here) and WTOC's video report (watch that here).
Get the immediate back story on the budget situation over here.
Update May 27: No surprises in Thursday's meeting at Battery Creek, folks really didn't care for the idea of merging the school with Robert Smalls Middle. Head on over to The Island Packet for a report, and get more details about what's up in the first report up top.
Update June 8: WSAV is reporting that a "School Closure Task Force" has been formed to study the issue.
You can get the details on what's up over here at WSAV — but there's been no formal action by the group yet, so this one's mostly a "stay tuned" note.
- As always, keep up on local budget debate here and on local education stories here.