While nothing is set in stone, the Selma City School Board of Education members and Selma Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams continued discussions about possible school closures at their Wednesday night meeting.

This is not an uncommon thing in the state.

Numerous school systems have closed and consolidated schools in their system to save money, and to better utilize school capacity.

This is a difficult situation that ultimately must be dealt with.

The choice to not close any school is always a possibility, according to Williams, but we agree that something needs to be done to help address financial issues the school system faces, and to better utilize the spaces the system has for students.

The process to consolidating and closing schools still has a long process to go, and includes public input.

If you have a suggestion of how the school system should handle this situation, you will all have an opportunity to voice your opinion soon. 

Williams and the school board wants the feedback. They wouldn’t give this opportunity to listen if they didn’t.

We encourage everyone to take advantage of this time that will be announced later to voice your concerns and opinions.

A team has been assembled to help weigh the pros and cons of each school, and where the students from each school would go should a school be closed.

Williams is right when she says that time is not the board’s friend if they plan to make a decision that will take effect in the next school year.

It is a lot of changes that could possibly happen quickly.

Let’s not forget this is part of the intricate five-year strategic plan that Williams and her staff have worked tirelessly on to help improve the system.

The system has come a long way from state intervention, and these decisions are not made without thinking about the system’s future as a whole.

Look for a story in Friday’s edition of The Selma Times-Journal about where the progress is on decision making for the school system.