Vote To Decide Fate Of A Pinole Elementary School

RICHMOND (KCBS) – The president of the West Contra Costa School Board said he'll fight to keep an elementary school open because it would cost too much money to close it. A final vote could come Wednesday night in Richmond.

Shannon Elementary School in Pinole is one of several schools that wound up on a closure list in 2009.

West Contra Costa School Board President Charles Ramsey, however, said that he has discovered that closing that school would cost the district $1.5 million to relocate students.

KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:

"It's not appropriate to spend this kind of money on school consolidation when we were told that we were going to save money right away," said Ramsey.

Shannon Elementary has suffered declining enrollment, and school board member Antonio Medrano said that it makes more sense to shut the school down.

"Every year we're losing students, so I don't see what has changed," said Medrano. "I don't see the argument for keeping it open."

Medrano said the West Contra Costa Unified School District went from having 35,000 students to just under 30,000 now.

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