craigdailypress.com

With six students enrolled at Maybell Elementary School, the board of education is considering closing the tiny school 30 miles west of Craig.

But residents of the town of about 100 people say closing the school would hurt the students and community.

The Moffat County School District Board of Education will host a special meeting tonight in Maybell to discuss the possibility of closing the school.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the school and is open to the public.

Superintendent Pete Bergmann said the board decided to host the special meeting in Maybell because of concerns from residents who heard the school might close.

"Our goal for this meeting is to explain to them that that is the last thing we want to do," Bergmann said.

But if enrollment drops, the district will have to consider shutting down the school and having Maybell children attend Ridgeview Elementary School in Craig.

"There is no magic number," Bergmann said. "But at some point in time, the board has to ask the question, 'Is that in the best interest of the total school district picture?"

Bergmann said the district is in the initial phase of determining next year's budget. Meetings such as tonight's help the board get public input on how to form the budget, he said.

Candy Hicks, whose daughter is a third-grader at Maybell Elementary, said the daily drive to Craig is too far for an elementary school student.

"I don't want to put a little first-grader on a bus that far," she said.

Maybell students make the 30-mile trip to Craig starting in sixth grade, but Hicks said the trip is too far for younger students.

Hicks, who has a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old she expects to attend Maybell Elementary in the future, said the small class size and individual attention make it a great school.

Hicks said the school is also the hub of the town.

The school is Maybell's biggest building, where most of the community events happen, she said.