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An elementary school in Eddington will close after three communities — Eddington, Clifton and Holden — voted for it to shut down at the end of the school year.
More than twice as many voters favored the closure than those who were opposed, with 2,530 votes to approve cast across the three communities and 1,114 against.
With the vote, residents in the communities, which make up Regional School Unit 63, agreed to consolidate students in two buildings. The RSU School Board has not decided what will happen with the closed elementary school.
The closure will save the district $669,950 by cutting multiple positions and reducing maintenance and fueling costs, according to the district. Although there will be a drop in costs, it’s unclear if the closure will lower local taxes.
Ahead of the vote, residents were told that their communities would have to pay the cost to keep the school open, roughly $670,000, if they denied the referendum. Under state law, any community that requires a school to stay open has to pay the fee to operate it for a year. That fee would have been split by two communities if both voted against the measure.
Residents in Eddington spoke out against the closure in a school board meeting earlier this year and on social media leading up to election day, but Eddington voters approved the closure in a 732-564 vote.
The RSU School Board can now review how the building can be used.