By Jim Newell

The Lake Orion Board of Education voted unanimously to close Pine Tree Elementary during its meeting Wednesday night.

The board also voted unanimously to eliminate the focus school structure, redistrict the remaining elementary schools and all the middle school boundaries and suspend intra-district open enrollment for the 2017-18 school year.

The decision to close a school comes after months of discussion, in which Webber Elementary had first been proposed as the school to close as part of the district’s restructuring plans.

Pine Tree had initially been proposed as a second option should the board choose not to close Webber.

More than a hundred residents packed the board room and hallways, with dozens – many of them Pine Tree parents – pleading with the board to reconsider during the public comments portion of the meeting.

Board members said the decisions were a necessity to cut costs. Administrators and board members have said that the declining enrollment due to “ageing out” – graduating more students than those being enrolled – and reductions in state aid have led to the current financial crisis.

For in-depth coverage and a look at the various perspectives on the issues, see the Nov. 23 issue of The Lake Orion Review.