PORT ANGELES — the Port Angeles School District board will hold a special meeting Wednesday to consider alternatives on how to avoid a $300,000 budget deficit next year without closing Monroe Elementary School.
Board President Charlie McClain called the study session to consider ideas and recommendations from parents opposed to the school’s closure.
The board in March voted 4-1 to trigger a 90-day process that could lead to the “mothballing” of Monroe School in June.
Two legally required public hearings have been held since then, and parents in the Monroe attendance area have made impassioned pleas to the board to keep their school open.
Several board members have said the district can no longer afford to operate six small elementary schools with current and future enrollment figures projecting a $300,000 deficit in the budget for the next school year.
90-minute study session
Wednesday’s public meeting will be held at the Port Angeles School District’s Central Service Building starting at 7 p.m.
The study session is scheduled to last until about 8:30 p.m., and then the School Board will hold a private executive session to discuss an unrelated personnel issue.