By DEWEY TERRILL
JC Post

Jefferson Elementary School at Fort Riley will be closed after the current school year. The USD 475 Board of Education voted 7-0 in favor of a resolution on Monday evening in favor of that action.

Approximately 150 to 160 students attend that school. BOE President Tom Brungardt explained for next school year they will be moved to other schools. “Students will be moved to a variety of schools, mostly Morris Hill and Ware because there’s space.”

This is part of a larger scenario under which  the school district is seeking a federal grant to help pay for a new elementary school on post. In the future both Jefferson and Morris Hill could be closed with the students attending the new school, which would be built on a site adjacent to the current Jefferson Elementary.

The federal grant, which is anticipated, would pay for 80 percent of the cost of the new school, with the district covering the remaining 20 percent of the cost.

Brungardt noted there were meetings with parents at both Morris Hill and Jefferson to inform them about the plan. “I attended one of those. There were a handful of people there. There didn’t seem to be a lot of angst. Some people will miss it, but they understand the students will still be able to go to a school close by and get an education.”