A Montoursville Area School District resident and former board member accused district officials of having already decided to shut down an elementary school, contrary to the desires, he claimed, of much of the community.

Ron Snell’s public comments at a recent board meeting came after Montoursville Superintendent Dan Taormina announced that the district is set to hold several public town hall meetings the week of Dec. 9 regarding the possible closing of Loyalsock Valley Elementary School.

The school closure would result in the consolidation of all elementary students in Lyter Elementary.

“We are pushing toward a decision on this so we can move forward,” Taormina said.

Snell told school directors they were “putting the cart in front of the horse.”

He noted that the architectural firm of Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates has been hired to do design work for a possible expansion of Lyter Elementary.

He admonished the board for earlier in the meeting approving a $19,500 proposal from SiteLogIQ. The proposal calls for SiteLogIQ to assist Crabtree and the district in “evaluating options, communicating with the public, and supporting a decision point regarding the continued use of one or both elementary buildings.”

“You appear to be moving forward with closing the Valley like the vote has already been made,” Snell said.

He noted that many people have made it clear they oppose a school closure and questioned if the town hall meetings will be “just for show.”

The 7 p.m. meetings will be held on four different dates at the following locations: Gamble Township Building, Dec. 9; Plunkett’s Creek Fire Hall, Dec. 10; Loyalsock Valley Elementary School, Dec. 11; and Lyter Elementary School, Dec. 12.

Taormina noted that the district will also hold a public meeting on the issue Jan. 21.

In other matters, the board voted to not exceed the Act 1 index for any real estate tax millage increase approved for the next fiscal year.

In personnel matters, the board agreed to the following hirings:

Tamra Wallace, paraprofessional, $15 per hour.

Kathy Rakestraw, bus driver.

Lydia Barbour, Rebecca Chow, Evan Nagy, Evan Laudenslager, substitute teachers.

The board agreed to the following coaching hirings:

Eric Wise, assistant golf coach, $1,500.

Jared Lehman, eighth grade boys’ basketball, $2,700.

Kyle Rude, seventh grade boys’ basketball, $2,800.

Joe Wood, ninth grade boys’ basketball, $2,600.

Prior to the regular meeting, the board held its annual reorganization session and voted to re-elect Todd Badger as president and David Young as vice president of the board

School directors agreed to continue to meet in regular session during 2025 on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the high school.

The exceptions would be July and August when the board will meet on the third Tuesday of those months and December on the first Tuesday.

Board work sessions will be at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month excluding June, July, August, November and December.