Monday night, school board members will vote to close a high school. Two possibilities are on the agenda:

13. CLOSING OF WOODRUFF HIGH SCHOOL – Hinton
Proposed Action: That the Board of Education approve the closure of Woodruff High School effective at the end of the 2009 – 2010 school year.

14. CLOSING OF PEORIA HIGH SCHOOL –
Proposed Action: That the Board of Education approve the closure of Peoria High School effective at the end of the 2009 – 2010 school year.

There’s no telling what will ultimately be decided. Closing Woodruff is the administration’s recommendation, and the one that has been on the table the longest. It lacks an implementation plan. Closing Peoria High is an idea that was formally suggested for the first time last Monday night by board member Jim Stowell. It also lacks an implementation plan.

Adding more intrigue is the fact that the two closings are listed separately on the agenda, meaning that, theoretically, both schools or neither school could end up being closed. The odds of both schools being closed is practically zero, but there is a real possibility that neither school could get the necessary four votes in favor of closing. That outcome would leave everyone in limbo, since there is no Plan B for plugging the budget deficit.

For those who are placing bets, everyone tells me that the most likely outcome is that Woodruff will be closed.