Salida's Perkins Elementary not reopening

SALIDA -- Salida schools may shift starting times to get around expected traffic snarls from work on the Kiernan exit overpass this spring.

A second option, reopening Mildred Perkins Elementary as a K-8, will not happen, Superintendent Twila Tosh said today.

Both were options presented as a report to Salida Union trustees Tuesday night.

The Perkins site, which sits north of Vintage Faire Mall, closed in 2010 to save money. And those same purse strings will keep it shuttered. Tosh estimated the cost to staff and ready the school for students at $400,000 more than increased enrollment and reduced busing would save.

Thirty to 40 students from that area transfer to Stanislaus Union schools, Tosh said. “We talk about reopening Perkins every year,” she said.

Changing schedules, which the board still would have to vote to approve, requires negotiations with Salida Union teachers and support staff.

Tosh said she hopes to lay out possibilities in January and have a final plan in place as early as possible to give parents time to make needed adjustments.