SANFORD, Fla. — Seminole County will have to close as many as five schools if budget cuts stay where they are. And the county is still looking for a way to decide which schools to close.
The school board met Monday night for more than two hours with a panel of parents chosen to help the district come up with the criteria for closing a school.
Only half of the 60-member committee showed up.
Across the county, there are 4,300 empty seats in the elementary schools alone.
The group looked at the age, condition, and transportation costs at each school, trying to come to a decision.
"I think it'd be very important we select a school where the impact would not be wasted with a minimal savings. We'd want to choose a school where the savings would be substantial," said committee member Steve Kuiper.
"I think it's a good list by the way I think the process here is getting painted," said Jayme McCoy, a committee member. "I'd like to respectfully disagree; we all need to deal with factors that aren't a choice."
The group did add past academic performance, school efficiency with their budgets and community contribution to the list of criteria to consider.
Some people were disappointed after such a long meeting. The group didn't even come up with a way to rank the schools.
The next meeting is in two weeks.
WFTV
