DENISON, TX-One Denison elementary school may soon close its doors two years ahead of schedule, that means students will have to transfer to another school in the district after the school year.
Laura Allison's son, Ryland, attends Layne Elementary School. She just found out the school will close at the end of the school year.

"It's bittersweet. We love our school but our school's antiquated. But as we remember, school's not a building, it's the people within it," she said.

The school bond, passed in 2011, initially proposed closing Layne and Golden Rule in 2014 because it would be too expensive to renovate such old facilities. But Denison superintendent, Dr. Henry Scott, says the district decided to close Layne 2 years early because renovations at Mayes elementary will be finished by August. The 200 Layne students will attend Mayes next fall.

"Mayes will be a very secure campus. We got some problems with Layne because of the streets and the portables, every student who wants to be bussed from the Layne district to Mayes are bus eligible," he said.

More than a dozen new classrooms will be added to Mayes, which will then accommodate all 500 students. Scott said closing Layne will also help the district save $400,000-$500,000 in operating costs.

"Well that money is gonna go into badly needed programs. We need that money to upgrade our technology, so the budget needs are enormous," he said.

Scott said the transfer will not cost teachers their jobs.

"We made it real clear every teacher that's teaching in those schools. No one will lose their jobs as a result of the bond issue, so they'll be reassigned," he said.

"We're kind of excited. His dad was a Mayes mustang so his dad's pretty excited now that he gets to go to his old elementary school. So that's making the transition in our home, trying to find a positive in it," said Allison.

Denison ISD will hold an informational meeting for parents of students attending Layne and Mayes elementary schools at the end of February.