The Gloucester School Board voted 4-3 last Thursday to close the elementary program at T.C. Walker Elementary School following a public hearing in which about 20 people voiced their objection to the move.

This was the second vote the board has taken on the matter. It voted March 13 to close the campus and relocate its children to other county elementary schools. During the board’s April 10 meeting, member Kevin Smith, who opposed the closure, and a speaker who addressed the board suggested it had violated a Virginia Code section by not holding a public hearing specifically on the proposed closing.

School division superintendent Ben Kiser first proposed the Walker closure in January as part of his fiscal year 2013 budget recommendations. An advertised public hearing on the budget recommendations was held in February. During the March 13 meeting, Smith, board chairman Anita Parker and vice chairman Randy Burak were in the minority of the 4-3 vote to close the school.

After ...