Paron Schools Closing By Fall

In the small town of Paron, you have a lot of upset people.

Many say the decision to close the middle and high schools was a poor one because they say it was made without the voice of the people it is going to affect.

?That's why this state's got to get vouchers so the parents can say 'Here's my money, I'm going here,'" says Dan Carlson.

Carlson says he moved his family from Benton to the Paron area because he was looking to put his kids in a school with smaller class sizes. Carlson says, ?We can come out here, we have much better access to the school. We're involved in it, it's a community school, Bryant you don't have that.?

But after hearing that the Arkansas Board of Education agreed to close Paron Middle and High Schools, he's unsure of his next step in his kids' education.

?Our only fear would be that Bryant would be able to, after they close the elementary, bring in the bulldozers and sell the land and bulldoze the building out,? says Carlson.

So what's next? Principal Larry Freeman says the board's ruling will go into effect in August, leaving only K-5 in Paron. That also leaves 28 teachers looking for new jobs. Freeman says Bryant is building more schools and those teachers will have a chance of getting jobs there. But he says they will not get preferential treatment and will have to apply just like all other applicants.

Bussing is also a potentially big problem. The district is hashing out routes now, but all the kids are in limbo on pickup and drop-off times.

Andy Justice says the decision wasn't thought out. "My two grandchildren who attend here now will have to get up at five in the morning. They will not get home til between 5:30 and 6:15 in the afternoon, that's over twelve hours. How is this quality education?"

Principal Freeman says the Bryant district is discussing changing school start times due the increased bus time Paron students will face.