Essex Elementary of the Akron Public School District will close at the end of this school year. A meeting Monday was held in the schools gymnasium to inform parents about the options they may have.

Depending on where the student is living in Akron, they will go to either King Elementary or Case Elementary. The third option of course would be enroling in a school outside the district.

In order to receive state funding for a school, the enrollment must be or exceed 350 students and Essex is unable to even house that amount. The elementary school is one of three schools to be closed in the district.

Cameal Reed was a concerned parent attended the meeting. Her daughter will be making the transition from Essex to King and looks at the situation as a learning experience for her first grader.

Reed says, "Were just learning and trying to prepare our children to be able to handel themselves with change, it's not going to stop."

A number of staff and teachers from all three schools attended the meeting including Principal Mary Dean from King Elementary.

She comments on the students making the transition from Essex to King saying, "I think now that they are ready to just make the next step."

The Principal of Essex was also in attendance and has high hopes for her students as they venture to a new facility.

She says "Essex is a wonderful school, Positive People Only, that is my motto and i'm hoping that the schools of the children that will be attending they will remain positive, just as they were as Essex Eagles!"