Dobbins Elementary to close, Poland schools announce

POLAND

The school district announced today it will close Dobbins Elementary next school year.

Superintendent David Janofa met with Poland Middle School and Dobbins staff this afternoon to make the announcement to them, according to a news release.

Dobbins houses third- and fourth-grade students. Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, those students will attend McKinley Elementary.

Closing Dobbins was included in a list of recommendations in a performance audit from the state audit that recently was released.

In response to concerns about McKinley’s condition, Janofa said it “absolutely” is safe.

“The McKinley building is an expensive building to operate due to the style of construction. The Board of Education has been discussing the conditions of all our facilities, and the resources we are allocating to repair the buildings for many years,” said Janofa. “McKinley is no different than the other buildings. Significant resources have been used for all our buildings for repairs. The McKinley building will have the normal summer cleaning, painting and waxing, just like every other building in the district.”