The Silver Grove (Ky.) School Board has voted to move forward with a merger with the much larger Campbell County district.
WKRC-TV reports that the board voted 4-1 in favor of initiating the merger. The Silver Grove Board has asked that its teachers and staff be given interviews for vacant positions in the Campbell County system.
Silver Grove is about 12 miles east of downtown Cincinnati on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. It is among the smallest school districts in Kentucky, with 211 students in one school. Campbell County has 20 times the students.
Funding is also an issue. Silver Grove has 1,150 residents whose incomes range from moderate to low. There is only one major employer nearby and state aid continues to be reduced.
Some parents opposed the merger. They believe the small school environment provides more one-on-one time with students and more opportunities for students to take part in extracurriculars.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that dozens of people came to a Silver Grove board meeting and pleaded to keep the school open.
Roberta Plummer said she is caring for her six grandchildren, and having to travel by car to get children at Campbell County Schools will pose a difficulty without reliable car transportation. She told board members closing the school will kill the town.
"My four-year-old granddaughter, she cried herself to sleep last night," Plummer said. "She doesn't want the school to close."
