It was a bittersweet day for some Roanoke County students, teachers and administrators last Thursday, as Bent Mountain Elementary School closed its doors and “graduated” its last 5th grade class. Less than 60 students were enrolled as the school year came to an end; next fall those not ready for middle school will go to Back Creek Elementary down the mountain. Dwindling enrollment and the drive to lower school budget costs led to the closure, which was originally planned for 2009, but was delayed a year by the School Board.
Joan Carver, vice president of the Bent Mountain Women’s Club, is hopeful that the school may be used as a community center in the future, but she’s not sure what will happen to the school-owned property. The Bent Mountain Public Library, which will remain open, is located within the school building. The structure was originally constructed in the 1930s, with major renovations taking place around 1990.
Outside, a playground renovated just a few years ago, and a community-maintained butterfly garden are also on school property. Carver is hoping that Roanoke County Parks & Recreation will oversee those assets, allowing them to remain open to the public. She’s fearful that any private company that might lease the building would bar the public from using the school’s amenities, including the playground, tennis and basketball courts, picnic shelter, and walking trail behind the school.
“All the supervisors have to do is act,” said Carver, who toured an old school in Martinsville that had been turned into a community center. The Roanoke County School Board will hold on to the lease, according to Carver, in case they need the school at a later date. A K-8 private school opening at a Methodist church on Bent Mountain will be one option this fall for those that don’t want their children to attend Back Creek.
“It is a community under stress and citizens have petitioned the supervisors for the facility as a community center,” said Windsor Hills supervisor Ed Elswick, adding that the Bent Mountain community would enjoy such a positive move.
“Between gypsy moths … a potential windmill farm taking over Poor Mountain and a new AEP power line, the community has certainly been bearing a large cross lately,” said Elswick. “Those who live up here would rather just be left alone. Of course, it would be good for the county to spend a little on the rural areas, but being left alone is a high priority.” Having a new community center at the former Bent Mountain Elementary School might be a small consolation for some.
On the last day of school, Carver said some Bent Mountain graduates came by, “talking about the good old days,” often with their yearbooks in tow. “These people had good memories.” Bent Mountain Elementary was often the target of closure rumors because of its lower enrollment numbers.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]