Last week, students, teachers, administrators and staff marked the final day of Five Points Elementary School.

There were plenty of emotional moments as the final students loaded the bus and drove away. For all intensive purposes, that building will never be a school again.

It is always sad when a school is forced to close. In this case, the decision was based on finances and drastic drops in population.

Dallas County School Board member Roy Edwards — the board member who represents the area where Five Points is located — said, “I would much rather be in a position to build schools instead of closing schools, but this is the right decision. There is no opportunity for employment in that area so you have kids go to school, graduate and then move away.

“We are seeing 10 to 15 students leave each and every year, because of the employment situation.”

It’s a shame that we continue to face these decisions — whether they are at the county school system or the city school system. It is a shame our school systems do not have the funds, the means, to add programs, add technology or at least pay for books so that students can take them home to student.

How can we expect for our school systems to improve drop out rates, improve test scores or better prepare our children for the world ahead of them, when we continue to cut back on education funding?