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Syracuse City District Approves Closing of School

By Jasmyn Belcher

Oswego, NY – The Syracuse school board has voted to close a city school.

In an effort to address budget problems, the Syracuse City School District will close Levy, which holds students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The Levy school building will remain open but it will be repurposed.

Parents of the nearly 400 Levy students will be able to send their children to other city schools such as Hughes Elementary. The district is considering expanding Hughes to include grades seven and eight.

President of the Syracuse Board of Education, Richard Strong says a number of factors led to the decision.

"At the end of the day, what you're looking at is an attempt to renovate three schools at the same time dealing with an $18 million budget shortfall, and trying to cope in a way to make all those things move forward," said Strong.

According to Strong, 70 percent of the district's budget comes from personnel costs. Reports say closing Levy will save the district $2 million in staff-related costs.

The school board voted to approve the budget last night, but it still needs approval from the Syracuse Common Council.