A month after the Hickman Mills School Board voted to close two schools, 41 Action News has learned the impact to staff will be minimal.
District leaders were forced to cut $5 million from the district budget and leaders decided to close two elementary schools in March.
As the school year is nearing an end, parents at two Hickman Mills schools tell us they are concerned.
"I like this school; I like the teachers and they really work with my kids. It’s just sudden,” Symington Elementary School parent Lakeisha Roland said.
Roland has four children that attend Symington. Next year Symington and Johnson Elementary School will close because of budget cuts.
"I think that is messed up because it is no guarantee that you are going to keep your job,” Roland said.
Hickman Mills School Superintendent Yolanda Cargile told 41 Action News after following state guidelines, 29 staff members were set to be laid off. But not everyone will be without a job.
"As a result of resignations and retirements, we have been able to call 20 certified staff back and one classified staff," Cargile said. "The remaining staff are on a wait list."
Still, the closures mean hundreds of students will move to other schools.
“It's a lot of kids that have to find somewhere to go and get placed in a school where there are already a number of kids,” Roland said.
Cargile says all schools will see some impact. But the most will be felt at only two schools.
"Some of our fifth grade classes at two of the current choice schools could be somewhat larger,” Cargile said.
