It's hard to dispute the irony of the concept of closing a school in order to create a school, but that's what is likely about to happen in Warren County.
In the complicated process of creating a charter middle/high school to serve the northern district of the county, and because of the foibles of Pennsylvania's charter school regulations, Eisenhower Middle/High School must technically be closed in order for the Community School Ownership Initiative to resurrect the very same school as a charter school.
In Pennsylvania a charter school can be created two ways - by conversion or from scratch. In a conversion charter an existing school can be converted to charter if more than half of the parents and more than half of the faculty agree with the conversion. Otherwise, a charter can be created from scratch either in a completely new building or in a building not used by the school district.
The CSOI has opted to choose from Column B.
There may be some quibbling over the reasons for that selection, but if the CSOI leadership says it was to make it easier on the Warren County School District we'll take them at their word.
The closing of Eisenhower by the WCSD would essentially be a technicality to smooth the transition to charter status. That is, it would simply be declared closed at the end of this school year, so that it could be sold or leased to the CSOI, if it is needed for a charter institution. Of course, that is contingent on the acceptance of the charter application, likely a fait accompli given the makeup of the incoming school board. However, in the unlikely event that the board turns down the charter request, the state Department of Education, which hears appeals of local rejections, rarely nixes charters.
At this point in time, it is apparent there will be an Eisenhower Charter Middle/High School, and Warren County should get used to the idea.