District will close Muncy Elementary School

Trustees finalized an advisory committee recommendation and voted 5-0 on Thursday night to close Muncy Elementary School this fall.

The vote ended two months of speculation for Muncy and Stanislaus Elementary students, parents and staff. Both schools were considered for closure.

The next step is to get the word out to Muncy parents as soon as possible at spring open houses and give them an opportunity to tour Chrysler and Eisenhut elementaries, schools their children most likely will be attending next year.

Trustees supported reopening the time period that allows parents to choose which school their children attend next year.

The decision came after nearly 30 Stanislaus and Muncy students, parents and staff spoke for an hour and 20 minutes in support of their respective school.

Three Muncy siblings sang the school's song, and by the end most of the audience was singing along. Students also held up signs lobbying for Muncy.

Some Muncy parents said that closing Muncy would be a hardship for them because their children could no longer walk to school and they lacked reliable transportation. They also worried their children would be less safe at other schools.

Most speakers supported keeping Muncy open, but some implored trustees to keep Stanislaus Elementary open.

Stanislaus parent Jennifer Espinoza said she disagreed with statements that the Kiernan Avenue school was unsafe. And though many of the school's families are more affluent than Muncy's, she asked trustees, "Why punish the privileged for being privileged?"

Handcuffed by funding

Muncy is one of seven schools in the 3,000-student Stanislaus Union School District in northwest Modesto.

Officials hope closing a school will cut $400,000, part of $3.7 million in reductions needed for the district's 2009-10 budget. The district's annual budget is about $29 million. Officials hope to reopen the school when the economy turns around and enrollment starts growing again.

"The state and federal governments handcuff us with what (funding) they give us," Trustee Seth Parker said.

Eisenhut, Muncy and Stanislaus elementaries were the three originally on the chopping block because they are the district's smallest schools, with enrollments of 259 to 326 students.

Adult literacy, special education and preschool programs have expressed interest in renting rooms at Muncy, officials said. The campus also could house the district office, which must relocate within two years.

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at mhatfield@modbee.com or 578-2339.