Closure of Pleasant Valley Elementary topic for Tuesday Carthage R-9 Board meeting

It's not likely to satisfy those who want Pleasant Valley Elementary School to remain open, but Carthage R-9 School District officials, in a frequently asked questions portion of the presentation they are scheduled to make to the Board of Education Tuesday night, say they can always use the property as a school again if they see the need.

Though they never say who asked these frequently asked questions or how frequently they were asked, the section of the presentation also says that if the board approves the plan to close Pleasant Valley at the end of the current school year, the following things will happen.

-Pleasant Valley will continue to be owned and maintained by the Carthage R-9 School District.

-No faculty or staff members will lose their jobs.

-The projected 68 students who are in the Pleasant Valley area will attend school at Steadley Elementary.

-Class sizes is an argument for the change since Pleasant Valley has only one classroom for each grade. At times, the presentation says, Pleasant Valley might have more students in a classroom than other schools in the district. At other times, it may have less.

The district's plan is to use Pleasant Valley as the site of the Beacon Autism Center. Space is needed for Beacon, the presentation notes, especially with the closure of the state school in Joplin. Since Pleasant Valley is already a school facility, "changes would require minimal cost."

The school is small, but big enough for Beacon program growth, the presentation says.

One speaker, Jason McVey, who has children attending Pleasant Valley is on the agenda to address the board.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Carthage Technical Center, 1100 E. Airport Drive.