Warren County School Board members have a lot to consider between now and January when a potential school closure vote for Youngsville and Sheffield can be held.

It’s obvious, once again, that the public is concerned. They don’t seem to believe population loss that has led to few students in too many classes and the district’s dwindling fund balance are reasons enough to close schools. To the contrary, allegations of fiscal mismanagement are being used as a way to push back on the district’s current financial issues.

Members of the public want to know how the closure would affect Youngsville as a whole, if administrators can be cut rather than closing schools, continue pushing Eisenhower as the right school to close, emergency response times to Eisenhower, social disruptions, transportation times and ability to participate in extracurricular activities.

There’s a reason these themes sound familiar.

They are many of the same arguments we heard in late 2022 and early 2023 when the school district was considering closing Sheffield. That proposal led to a bitterly contested school board election and the decision to save Sheffield for another year while sending some Sheffield students partial days to Warren Area High School.

It’s been 18 months since community opposition saved Sheffield High School for one more year, and we’re right back where we started. So let’s learn from 2023.

Are those concerns serious enough to reconsider school closures? How many of those concerns have palatable solutions? How many of those concerns are just red herring arguments to distract from the real issue at hand – lack of educational opportunity and a budget that won’t balance without hefty tax increases every year.

The public has given the Warren County School District board plenty to consider. We’ll add one more. The very definition of insanity is doing the same thing, year after year, and expecting different results – both academically and financially. It’s worth keeping in mind.