Gull Lake Schools to close Bedford Elementary

RICHLAND (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - It's been rumored for weeks, and now painful cuts at one struggling school district will mean some elementary students will have to find a new place to learn.

Tuesday night the Gull Lake Community School Board approved cuts that will close Bedford Elementary.

That means students will move to either Kellogg Elementary near Hickory Corners or Richland Elementary.

The district's entire deficit for next year tops $1.6 million. They're cushioning that blow with money from their rainy day fund. In all, the board had to make $1.34 million in cuts.

The list of cuts the district had to make is long, but the most emotional one has to be closing Bedford Elementary.

The district says it needed to be done, but parents and kids are sad to see it closed.

Next year a lot of the kids playing on the playground at Bedford Elementary School will find themselves in class at Kellogg Elementary.

It's a switch Denna Miller says will be easy for her daughter. "Kellogg is a decent school, she has family there, so she'll fit right in."

But lots of parents say Beford won't be the same without this small school.

"There's people buying $100,000 homes right now, just so their kids can go to Bedford, just to have it taken away from us," said one parent.

Gull Lake Community Schools will save $236,000 next year by closing Bedford Elementary. Several staff positions will also be cut.

"You put the school board in place to make these kinds of decisions and they're going to be tough decisions they have to make," said one parent.

Kellogg Elementary is eight miles away from Bedford. Parents worry just how long that ride might be.

"It's probably a 10-15 minutes in a car. On a school bus, they're talking, it could be 70 minutes," said one parent.

It'll be a tough transition for some but one quite a few parents say aren't surprised by.