Westside considers closing Neenach

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press May 30, 2001.

By JANNISE JOHNSON
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Westside School District administrators will consider closing Neenach Elementary School because of a combination of low enrollment and rising energy costs.

The board may vote on the issue as early as Tuesday, June 5, but so far trustees and staff haven't made a decision, district Superintendent Allan Sacks said.

The board will discuss Neenach during a meeting tonight in Room 3 at the district Education Services offices, next door to Quartz Hill Elementary School.

Sacks said enrollment has been declining over the past few years. Neenach Elementary has a capacity for 200 students, but is currently operating with only 53, Sacks said.

Lori Ordway-Peck, superintendent of business services for the district, confirmed increased energy costs will factor into the decision. The school, built in 1993, is almost all electric, she said, and was expensive to operate even before energy costs went up.

Nearly all Neenach students are bused to the campus because the school serves a widely spread out ranching community, Ordway-Peck said.

Sacks said if the district decides to close the campus, it would bus the students to nearby Del Sur Middle School.

Since it already uses buses for some Del Sur students, Ordway-Peck said the district could save thousands of dollars a year by transporting Neenach students at the same time.

No teachers or classified staff would lose their jobs if the school were closed, Sacks said.

Teachers would be transferred to other schools, including some who would go to Del Sur to teach elementary students, he explained.

Leasing the property to the Gorman School District is another option, according to Hugh Pickrel, Gorman superintendent-elect. While he didn't have any details, Pickrel confirmed that Westside officials had approached him about leasing the property approximately a week ago.

"Right now we're just considering options," Pickrel said. "It's one of many."