Ken-Ton to close Jefferson Elementary

KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) - Thomas Jefferson Elementary will be history after the upcoming academic year. Declining enrollment and rising costs forced a hard decision Tuesday night on the Ken-Ton School Board.

By a four-to-one vote, the board approved Superintendent Mark Mondanaro's plan to close Jefferson Elementary. The decision was made in front of a packed crowd of parents at Hoover Elementary, who weighed in on the closing before the vote.

"I understand that times are tough; the district's changing. I just want to ask the board to really think this through. There's a lot of options out there; there's things to think about," said one parent.

Another parent in attendance added, "Part of what made our decision so easy to move into the Village of Kenmore was that we knew we were going to be getting good schools with small class sizes. And the impact of your decision tonight could adversely impact the reason we moved into this community."

MORE | Parents also spoke out at a meeting on Monday with the superintendent

Superintendent Mondanaro told the board and the parents in attendance, he doesn't want to close the school, but he has to. At the district's height, more than 22,000 students filled the classrooms. Currently, just over 7,300 are enrolled.

"That's what's happened to public education in this state. I didn't cause it. You didn't cause it. Parents didn't cause it. We're dealing with it. Not everyone might be aware of how many students have been impacted though. Or how drastically, unless you are a parent," said Mondanaro.

The superintendent explained over the last three years, millions of dollars of cuts have been made district-wide. Teachers' salaries have been frozen at Jefferson, and many student programs have either gone away or never started.

Mondanaro says closing the school would give the district $2.5 million in cost savings, which could go to extra curricular and other programs that haven't been available.