KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The Kanawha County School Board has voted to close Grandview Elementary School.

The unanimous 5-0 vote took place at the West Side Middle School Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia. The closure will take effect at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, officials say. This comes just 24 hours after the board approved unanimously to shut down Marmet Elementary School.

The Grandview students will be split up and transferred into Edgewood and Mary C. Snow Elementary Schools.

According to the board’s consolidation proposal, the county plans to convert Grandview Elementary into office space. As for Marmet, the building is expected to be demolished.

13 News spoke with neighbors who live up the hill from Grandview, who say they were hoping the school would remain open. But now that the school is closing, they hope the board has a plan in place to repurpose it.

“The board of education doesn’t worry about what’s going to happen to these abandoned structures when they’re in the neighborhoods,” Patrick Jones said. “Leaving these schools abandoned and destroying neighborhoods. They need to have a plan for these schools when they close them.”

Patrick’s wife, Connie, is concerned how the students being split up and transferred to a new environment will affect their school experience.

“It’s gonna hurt ’em,” Connie said. “It’s gonna hurt their hearts more than anything. They’re gonna miss little Johnny or little Sally. And kids these days don’t sit and talk on the phone, it’s heartfelt, it really is”

Tonight’s vote was the second of three consecutive votes the Kanawha County Board of Education is holding as part of consolidating schools in the County. On Thursday night, the board will hold a final special session at the St. Albans High School Auditorium at 6 p.m. regarding the potential closing of George C. Weimer Elementary School.