Uniontown school board votes to keep mountain-area school open
Middle school students in the Uniontown Area school district will not be integrated into the high school next school year.
“I’m recommending to the board at this time that for the next school year…all students will remain in their current buildings while the board and the public gather any additional information,” said Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky during the most recent school board meeting.
Due to declining enrollment, officials were exploring what to do with the district’s three mountain-area schools – A.J. McMullen Middle School and Marclay Elementary School in Markleysburg and Wharton Elementary School in Farmington.
Fewer than 300 students are currently enrolled among the three schools, according to Machesky.
During a public hearing late last year, district officials discussed shutting down at least one of those schools and moving students in seventh and eighth grades to Uniontown Area High School.
Last week, the board voted unanimously to put off moving students next year. Machesky said that was to both alleviate parents’ concerns and to give the board additional time to review all of the available options before rushing into a decision.
The superintendent said the board appreciates the parents of the children who have helped gather information and provide options for the district about the future of the mountain schools.
“There have been a group of mountain parents that have taken it upon themselves, and have done an excellent job, of getting some professionals involved and making estimates with some options and their cost,” he said.