MONROE — Next September, there will only be two middle schools in the city.
The Monroe School Board voted unanimously Monday night to close Monroe Middle School and transfer the students to the two remaining schools. Th
e shuttered middle school at 351 Short Columbia St. will instead be used as the site of other educational programs such as the Sky Valley Education Center.
School officials said shrinking enrollment and lack of electives were the main reasons for the consolidation. The school district expects to save $2 million in the next five years by not hiring additional staff at Monroe Middle and not paying a lease on the Sky Valley Education Center.
With the consolidation, Park Place will have about 750 students and Hidden River about 550 the next school year.
At Monday’s meeting, the school board also voted 4-1 to approve a plan for where students from Monroe Middle School will go next year. Board member Debra Kolrud voted against.
The plan also determines which elementaries feed into which middle school.
With the new plan, students living in the Maltby and Fryelands elementary schools’ enrollment areas will attend Hidden River, at 9224 Paradise Lake Road in Snohomish. Students from Chain Lake, Salem Woods and Frank Wagner Elementary School will attend Park Place, at 1408 W. Main St.
Parents can request transfers. Transfer forms can be found at the Monroe School District website, www.monroe.wednet.edu.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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