During a special meeting Tuesday night, the Quakertown Community School District Board of Directors finalized a controversial decision to close Milford Middle School. The 8-1 vote ended a four-month debate between the board and dozens of parents, students and educators in the district.

            With a packed house, 20 residents addressed the board in one last effort to sway its decision.

            That decision is part of the board's plan to begin to close a $4.7 million structural budget deficit. In March, Superintendent William Harner presented the option as part of a comprehensive spending reduction plan, which also included some auxiliary program cuts, administrative staff reductions (primarily through attrition) and elementary school consolidation.

            Closing the school will save the district an estimated $1 million in ongoing maintenance costs, a savings not factored into the 2017-2018 academic year budget adopted last month. That budget includes a 2.9 percent tax increase.

            With the closing of Milford Middle School, the district's Freshman Center will now become a Sixth Grade Center, with all seventh and eighth grade students attending Strayer Middle School and ninth grade students attending Quakertown Community High School.

            Board President Paul Stepanoff explained that the district cannot continue to pay to keep the school open when the other three schools can sufficiently meet capacity for both current and future projected student population.

            "The reality is we can't in good faith waste this community's hard-earned money," he said.

            A FAQ is available on the district website that details the transition plan for incoming and current middle school students, including information on orientations, class sizes, activities, schedules and bussing. According to that document, most teachers impacted by the transition are already prepared to move their classrooms, having packed before the end of the school year.

            The district will need to send a letter of intent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by the end of July. Aug. 28 is the first school day for students.