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Taxpayers Upset Over Moon School Board's Vote To Close Hyde Elementary

MOON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - The Moon Township School Board made a very unpopular decision Monday night when it voted to close a neighborhood elementary school.

But, that is not the only thing that has parents up in arms.

"How can you refute the findings of an impartial outsider of the man you hired to make recommendations to this board without making it look like political back-room shenanigans? You broke the trust of the entire community when you blindsided Hyde with a late-night vote," one man said.

Taxpayers in the Moon Area School District voiced their displeasure after the board members voted 7-2 to close Hyde Elementary School.

"The will of the residents who elected you should be clear from the many signs, comments and e-mails; that is we want five neighborhood schools, not grade-level schools," another man said.

The decision is part of a cost-cutting move and could save the district about $500,000. But, outspoken residents think there is something else going on behind the scenes.

Many are angry they were not allowed to speak before the board's initial vote on June 25.

"It is a knee-jerk reaction for you not to take a different tack on course, scrambling to meet the budget by closing an elementary school -- be it Hyde or one of the others -- and shifting to the grade configuration notion," one woman said.

"Constant change isn't a comfortable way for a child to go about learning," Avera Richardson said.

The board also voted Monday to pursue merger talks with the Cornell School District and residents promised they will remember these decisions the next time they vote.

"You as board members need to remember that you work for the citizens of Moon as well," one woman said.

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