BECKLEY, W.Va. — Action by the Raleigh County board of education will result in the closure of two elementary schools at the end of the current academic year.
The Board voted Tuesday 4-1 co close Cranberry-Prosperity Elementary School and Mabscott Elementary School. Board member Marsha Smith cast the lone dissenting vote on both closures.
Students from Cranberry-Prosperity will be reassigned to Bradley, Maxwell Hill and Stanaford Elementary Schools, while Mabscott students will move to Crescent and Hollywood Elementary Schools. The Severe Disabilities Program at Hollywood Elementary will also be relocated to Beckley Elementary.
School officials say declining enrollment and financial challenges are driving the consolidations. Raleigh County Schools has lost more than 22-hundred students over the past decade. Closing Cranberry-Prosperity alone is expected to save approximately 1-point-1 million dollars annually.
The closures still require any necessary approval from the West Virginia Board of Education before taking effect.