WJJQ LOCAL NEWS
One Merrill elementary school to close

Friday, January 6, 2012

Merrill's School board took several steps towards reducing next year's budget, including closing one school.

A split school board voted last night to close Pine River Elementary, while allowing Maple Grove Elementary to stay open. Nearly 200 people attended the special meeting at Merrill High School to discuss the proposed cuts.

Pine River currently has 134 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Most of those students will move to Washington Elementary. Maple Grove, which will house a charter school, was saved for that reason. The district is currently working with the Marathon School district to create the charter school that could attract students to the district and also bring in state grant money.

Fifth-graders will still remain in the elementary because only one school was closed. If both schools had closed fifth-graders would have moved to Prairie River Middle School.

The district's 4-year-old kindergarten and its Head Start Early Childhood programs will now move to the vacating Pine River Elementary School.

The board also eliminated the proposed pay raise for teachers, administration and other staff, saving over $200,000. The boy's hockey team was also spared last night and will remain an athletic program.

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