State Board of Education votes to close Bruno-Pyatt Elementary School

The State Board of Education has voted to close the Bruno-Pyatt Elementary School in Marion County, part of the Ozark Mountain School District. The state board cited declining enrollment and rising costs which school officials say is not sustainable in their decision. The Ozark Mountain School Board voted 6-1 in August to close the school. Because the vote wasn’t unanimous, the request had to be brought before the state board.

Only 15 students enrolled at Bruno-Pyatt this school year. Nine of them attend grades first through third while the other six attend grades four and five. They will be integrated into the other two elementary schools in the district at St. Joe and Western Grove. Superintendent Jess Knapp told the board that will add about 20 minutes travel time each way for each student. He said the two certified teachers at Bruno-Pyatt will also be moved to the other campuses. Knapp tells KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News the students and teachers will move to the other schools at the end of this semester.

We also asked Knapp what is going to happen to the buildings and campus at Bruno-Pyatt. He tells us he and the school board have had discussions about that and they have had input from Aliza Jones, a planner with the Arkansas Association of School Facilities, but no decisions have been made at this time.

A financial analysis shows expenses for the Bruno-Pyatt campus were $631,541 more than it generated last year with the cost per student at $41,445. The estimated cost of operating the school this year was over $630,000 with the cost per student over $42,000. Knapp told the board that is 50% more than the school’s anticipated revenue, so it’s not financially feasible to continue the campus.

Knapp told the state board while two of the district’s four schools have seen a small increase in enrollment this year compared to last year, Bruno-Pyatt has had a steady decline four consecutive years.

The Bruno-Pyatt school began in 1973 when the Bruno and Pyatt schools consolidated and the current building was built. In 2004, the Ozark Mountain School District was born when the Bruno-Pyatt, St. Joe and Western Grove school districts consolidated under the Public School Reorganization Act of 2003, which required schools with enrollment of less than 350 students to consolidate. In 2020, the athletic teams were combined. In 2023, the high schools combined into one campus which is located at Western Grove. In 2024, the Head Start program at Bruno-Pyatt was closed.

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