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Mar. 3, 2011
More than 30 Bloomington Elementary School parents, students, teachers, and other supporters met with the Garrett County commissioners on Tuesday afternoon to plead their case for keeping the school open.
Located at the foot of Backbone Mountain near the Allegany County line, Bloomington Elementary has 34 students in prekindergarten through grade five.
“If the recommendation to close the school goes through, it’s going to have an effect not only on the school kids, but on the community,” said Greg Harvey, BES Advisory Group. “It’s not just an issue that deals with 34 kids.”
He said the school is the hub of the community, and closing it would have detrimental effects on Bloomington. Those include decreased property values, a decreased tax based for the county, the loss of after-school and community activities, the loss of school- related jobs, and the eventual loss of businesses, services, and residents.
Harvey pointed out how nearby Westernport declined after Allegany County closed Bruce High School.
“The reason for being in Westernport went away,” he said about the exodus of numerous families.
The local BOE is facing a more than $4 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2012 because of state cutbacks, an increase in the county’s wealth index, and the expiration of “hold harmless” legislation, which previously ensured level funding despite enrollment decline.
As a cost-saving measure, Dr. Wendell Teets, superintendent of Garrett County schools, proposed last September that Bloomington and Kitzmiller elementary schools be closed. He explained that these two schools have the highest cost of operation per student with the lowest enrollments.
