OGDEN — Gramercy Elementary School will close at the end of the school year.

The Ogden School Board voted unanimously to close the school at Thursday’s board meeting. Gramercy was one of four elementary schools considered for closure by the district, citing declining enrollment and aging facilities.

Ogden Superintendent Rich Nye said he spoke to other superintendents around the state whose districts have had to close schools and that “this is one of the hardest things they’ve ever done, and the hardest thing, frankly, that a board ever has to consider.

“And I’ve felt that as well … because the school — and thankfully so — is a central point of gathering in a community, and to remove that is very difficult,” Nye said.

A meeting will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the school at 1270 Gramercy Ave. for parents to ask questions about the transition.

A public hearing where community members can discuss the closure of Gramercy will likely be held during the upcoming board meeting, which starts at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, at the Ogden School District Administration Building.

Nye presented information to the board on school enrollment numbers and the state of facilities of four elementary schools, but did not recommend which school to close and left the decision to the board.

The elementary schools are all older elementary schools that will not be updated or rebuilt as part of the bond approved by voters in 2018.

The board chose Gramercy because it has the lowest enrollment of the four schools and the lowest architect assessment rating of the four schools, though its enrollment trails Hillcrest Elementary by only 11 students.

Joyce Wilson, vice president of the board, moved to close the school, and Douglas Barker, who attended Gramercy Elementary growing up, seconded the motion.

Board member Sunni Wilkinson moved to amend the resolution to retain the land where Gramercy is built due to its prominent location on 12th Street and its proximity to Mound Fort Junior High. The board also supported this amendment unanimously.

“We come with really heavy hearts,” Wilkinson said. “If you can’t tell, I’m having a really hard time even talking … we really take it to heart, and we’re just trying to make the best decisions we can. I’ve met with a lot of these principals one-on-one, too, and they’re commendable people… so I also anticipate the transition, whenever it happens to be, will also be a positive thing because these are wonderful people who can do it.”

Tina Maurice, a sixth grade teacher at Gramercy, was concerned that the decision was made solely based on the state of the facilities and enrollment numbers, because she said all of the schools on the list are considered in poor condition.

Maurice was “upset, because it looks like the decision was all made on that one chart… threes and fours are all bad,” she said, referring to the architect assessment scores for the four schools, which all had scores in that range.

“While Hillcrest and Gramercy are very close in the architectural ratings and enrollment, Gramercy is much much more expensive to operate,” Jer Bates, director of communications for the district, responded. Hillcrest has also experienced a recent hit in enrollment due to a charter school going in nearby, he said, while Gramercy has been declining for some time.

Maurice also said that Gramercy was performing well, and it didn’t make sense to break up a school that was already successful. She thought performance, including test scores, should be taken into account when selecting a school to close. In addition, she thought students at a struggling school might benefit more from being sent to another school.

Nye emphasized that performance was not the reason for closure. He also said that the schools being considered have comparable academic achievement.

According to the Utah State Board of Education’s data gateway, Gramercy Elementary has a median growth percentile (MGP) of 54 on language arts and 32 on math for the 2017-2018 academic year, the most recent data available.

This means that the average student in at Gramercy had a higher score on the SAGE language arts exam than 54 percent of their peer group (students across the state who are in the same grade and had similar SAGE scores the previous year).

The MGP is a measure of student growth over the course of the year rather than a static proficiency rating at the end of the year.

Nye also pointed out that there are safety considerations. At Gramercy, several classrooms are accessible to people who enter the building before they visit the main office. At James Madison, another one of the four schools being considered for closure, the main office is right at the entrance of the building.

In addition, when construction begins on T.O. Smith Elementary during the 2020-2021 academic year as one of the bond projects, the district may need to send some T.O. Smith students to James Madison.

Last year, school closure was discussed, but Maurice thought the process was uncertain. She appreciated that there was a “drop dead” date by which the decision would be made this year.

“I agree that schools need to close. I don’t disagree with that. I don’t have as much heart burn this year as much as I would have last year,” Maurice said, “because they seem organized this year.”