Claymont to close intermediate school at end of school year

Claymont Intermediate School in Dennison will close at the end of this school year as the district moves to realign its existing buildings and to save money.

After meeting in executive session for an hour and a half at a special meeting March 31, the board voted 3-1 to close the school. Board member Michelle Wolf voted no.

Under the plan, eighth grade students will be moved from the middle school to the high school. The middle school will house students from the fourth through seventh grades, while third graders will begin attending the elementary school on Trenton Avenue in Uhrichsville.

“This is not a decision that was not made lightly or quickly,” board President Solomon Peters said before the board took action. “There were a lot of discussions about this going into this decision. I feel personally that if we don’t make a decision now to put our district in a better situation financially, we’re doing a disservice to the district and to our students.”

Superintendent Brian Rentsch said Claymont will look at selling the intermediate building, either through an auction or a real estate listing, but it will retain the district offices in Dennison.

Claymont will not dispose of the contents in the intermediate school. “No, because we need those in other buildings,” Rentsch said. “All we’re doing is picking up kids and desks and stuff and moving them to rooms at the other buildings.”

The intermediate school opened in fall 1928 as Dennison High School. It earned the nickname of “Angel’s Castle” because of its many turrets. W.H. Angel, who spearheaded the project, was Dennison’s superintendent at the time.

When Dennison and Uhrichsville consolidated their schools to form Claymont in 1965, the building became the junior high. After the new high school opened at the beginning of the 21st century, the building was converted into an intermediate school.

The intermediate school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.