Webster County Superintendent Dr. James Kemp told The Messenger that officials discussed several options before deciding to shutter Slaughters Elementary when the year concludes on May 25.
District finances were a major factor in the decision. Kemp says the school district has seen its budget reduced by about $500,000 in state money in the past two years. It is also receiving less federal money.
The board had to cut expenses and chose to close the school, which has 165 students in grades kindergarten through eighth. Kemp says the alternative would have been to eliminate other items from the district budget, including arts and humanities classes, physical education and school nurses.
