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Residents say Stewartsville school closure was concealed; they urge board intervention
Summary
Several residents told the Bedford County supervisors the school board moved to close Stewartsville without adequate transparency, urging the supervisors to seek collaboration, keep the school open for one more year, and ensure careful redistricting.
Residents who spoke at the April 14 public comment period told the Board of Supervisors they believe the Stewartsville school closure was advanced without sufficient public notice and without coordination between the school board and the county.
Carrie Sarby (District 1) told supervisors she attended school-board meetings and asserted the closure plan was discussed as early as Jan. 21 but was concealed and only pressed late on a March 5 school-board agenda. Sarby said school-board member Mr. Daniels did not consult the board of supervisors before moving forward and that the school board switched terminology from "closing" to "decommissioning," which she said allows the property to be sold. "Using the terminology decommissioning Stewartsville now allows the property be to be sold, which is his goal," she said, and she asked the board to keep the school open next year while county redistricting is completed.
Sarby and other speakers raised concerns about previous redistricting errors that sent students to more distant schools and said those errors increased transportation costs; she asked supervisors to press for collaborative planning before final actions are taken.
The board did not take formal action on the school closure during the April 14 meeting; supervisors acknowledged the public comments and flagged the issue for further budget and intergovernmental discussion during upcoming committee and budget work sessions.
Next procedural steps mentioned by board members include continued budget work-session deliberations and possible joint discussions between the county and school board finance committees.
