The Athens Area School District is facing an $850,000 budget gap. In hopes of saving up to $1 million a year, the district is proposing a plan to close three elementary schools. A public meeting on the plan was held Tuesday night, and as Bill Mich tells us, many parents took the opportunity to voice their concerns about closing schools.

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ATHENS, Pa. -- Last year's budget process for the Athens Area School district was brutal.

"We had to cut $1.7 million last year and it resulted in 17 teacher positions being eliminated. A bunch of programs, a bunch of support staff, and I am not real happy to do it again," said Superintendent Doug Ulkins.

Instead, this year, the district has devised a plan to save up to $1 million a year by closing three elementary schools. Sheshequin-Ulster, Gladys Burnham and Harriet Child Elementary would be closed and the students reorganized to different schools. The district is confident in the plan, but parents have some concerns.

"I am so afraid that they are going to have 30 plus kids in a classroom. How's one teacher going to handle 30 kids?" said Randy Greeno of Athens.

The superintendent says by adding more classes to a school, classroom sizes can actually be more balanced with numbers in the low twenties. Many parents also are skeptical of the district's plan for transportation, saying students will be on the bus far too long.

"We have a software program where we are going to be able to input everybody's address and they are going to reallocate all of the bus routes in the school district for the first time in many, many years," said Ulkins.

"He's figured out a miraculous way to get us here, including with the price of diesel going up, he's going to get us here cheaper and faster. I want to see where this Hindenburg blimp is. I want to see the laws of physics bent," said David Baker of Bentley Creek.

The district has its reasons and the community has its concerns. It comes down to the school board voting on the highly contested project on February 28th.

The superintendent says if the school board does, in fact, pass the consolidation plan later this month, it would go in effect next school year.