Bartlett also stated in his letter that the practical date to complete an expansion to Smithsburg Elementary would not be until August 2005. Carol Mowen, the board's public information officer, said that the school system would have no place to put the Cascade students if the school closed in 2002. She said when Bartlett wrote that the school could technically close in 2002, he meant that the legal documentation could be completed by then. No one has ever suggested that we would relocate the students in order to go with that timeline. Weissenbach believes the board could obtain portable classrooms to house the students while the renovations to Smithsburg Elementary are completed.
Cascade residents are opposed to the possible consolidation.
They believe that a school is needed in the community to help economic growth, smaller schools are safer and provide more educational opportunities and that young children would spend more than an hour on the school bus while being transported to and from Smithsburg Elementary School. Bartlett has also stated Cascade Elementary would lose its Title I funding if it is consolidated with Smithsburg Elementary.