GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County's School Board voted unanimously to close Murphey Traditional Academy, Archer Elementary and Wiley Elementary.
Before the board even voted, they asked anyone in opposition to stand up but not single person did. Closing these schools is part of the district's master plan to rebuild 22 schools.
Julius Monk, Deputy Superintendent of Business and Operations says most parents aren't opposed to the closing of these schools because the new schools will present new opportunities, "most people see this as a great opportunity to occupy two brand new schools in an area that we haven't had an opportunity to do a lot of new construction in and they seem excited for the future."
During this process, Swann Middle School will also be closed, students there will go to Kiser or Mendenhall Middle Schools. One of the parents at tonight's meeting said they're concerned about transportation and longer commute times with those changes, "if someone relies on public transportation, what was once a 15 minute commute to Swann Middle, with a 5 to 6 minute walk to a bus stop, would now become a commute of 1 hour and 10 minutes with a 25 to 30 minute walk from Mendehall Middle from the closest bus stop."
Although parents were less concerned about the closing of Archer, Murphey and Wiley, many questioned the future of the historic Lindley Elementary School.
"I'm gonna speak from my heart, I think that keeping a beautiful building like that, designed by Charles Hartman in 1928, adds character to a school that you can't replicate," one parent said.
The future of Lindley is still up the air. A vote was made Tuesday, stating that a project will take place there, the school board is considering making repairs or adding to it but it's not clear when a decision will be made on the design of Lindley.
The district says it hopes to notify families about where their kids will go to school in early to late spring of 2024.