Students, families and teachers attended a meeting Tuesday night to hear about a redesign plan for the Greater Johnstown School District if Johnstown Middle School closes.

“We’re not going to say we won’t have some hiccups along the way, some issues that we may not have considered. But we believe that through a thorough vetting process, this redesign we’re presenting is the best opportunity for our students and community moving forward,” said Amy Arcurio, the assistant superintendent for the Greater Johnstown School District.

The 650 middle school students would be split between the remaining three buildings. Kindergarten through 4th grade would move to West Side Elementary. Fifth through 7th grade would move to East Side Elementary and the high school would absorb the 8th graders.

The biggest changes will be to staffing and student transportation. Commute times could increase to an hour one-way.

“On the bus for almost for an hour. I’m just afraid he’s going to get tired, sleepy, whatever and not be able to function right,” said Melissa Flores, a parent.

Closing the middle school would save the district $1-1.5 million each year and allow for more special programs for education and the arts.

District officials said student crowding won’t be an issue, but some staff members would be furloughed. However, they don’t know how many or from which departments.

“Enrollment’s not going down and they’re talking about increasing instructional time, so how are you going to do that if you’re getting rid of teachers and support staff?” said Annie Slezickey, Region Advocacy Coordinator for Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Other parents said the benefits of the redesign plan outweigh the drawbacks.

“The ultimate goal is to have our kids be a success in life, and if this is one of the ways to do it, then we’re in,” said Marcus Spanko, a parent of four kids in the district.

The school board won’t make the final decision whether to close Johnstown Middle School until June 6th.

There will be two more town hall meetings on Wednesday, April 26: 5:30 p.m. at East Side Elementary and 6:30 p.m. at Greater Johnstown High School.