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Mentor to close two elementary schools as part of comprehensive changes in 2018-19

Brentmoor and Garfield Elementary Schools are set to close, while Ridge Middle School will be converted to an elementary school.

Changes are coming to Mentor Public Schools for the 2018-19 year.

On Tuesday, Interim Superintendent Bill Porter announced that the district will be closing two elementary schools, Brentmoor and Garfield. Mentor will also go from operating three middle schools to two, as Ridge Middle School will be converted to an elementary school.

All of Mentor's middle school students will be assigned to either Shore or Memorial. The new boundaries will zone the Bellflower Elementary area into Shore and the Brentmoor Elementary area into Memorial.

The district will be making additional changes to its attendance zone boundaries. Here is how students and families will be affected:

  • Students currently in the Brentmoor zone will attend the new elementary school at Ridge.
  • The Garfield zone will be redrawn to attend Fairfax, Hopkins, and the new elementary school at Ridge.
  • A large portion of the Hopkins boundaries will be rezoned for the new elementary school at Ridge, which will alleviate overcrowding at Hopkins and create lines that are more geographically fitting.
  • A portion of Fairfax will move into the Orchard Hollow zone and Fairfax will get a new, earlier start time.
  • The new elementary school at Ridge will have a start-time around 9:00 a.m. and will be finalized later.
  • The preschool will stay at Ridge.
  • Students from the new elementary school at Ridge will attend Memorial after 5th grade. (As mentioned above, Bellflower students will go to Shore.)

Porter explains more in a video put together by Mentor Public Schools:

To assist students and parents with these changes, the district is planning to hold informational community meetings at The Paradigm on Center Street behind Mentor High School. Here is the schedule:

Thursday, January 11

5:30 p.m. Fairfax

Tuesday, January 16

5:30 p.m. Brentmoor

7:30 p.m. Ridge

Wednesday, January 17

5:30 p.m. Garfield

7:30 p.m. Hopkins

As far as how these changes will affect jobs at the affected schools, Porter said in a letter to Mentor school families, "While I cannot make any guarantees on personnel at this time, our goal will be to work diligently to move staff members from the buildings that are closing into openings at other buildings as the reassignment of students and retirements of staff allow."

With the implementation of this plan, Porter says the district is projecting more than $7 million dollars in savings over a five-year period.

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