Surrounded by battered wooden theater seats bolted to a cracked, concrete floor, Margaret Eckles-Ray stood near a stage that's seen better days.

But among the grand auditorium's rows of disrepair -- telltale signs that Phineas Davis Elementary School is in sad structural shape -- Eckles-Ray saw a legacy of learning.

The building has provided a strong starting point for generations of students, she said. What a shame it would be to lose the historic monument.

Eckles-Ray and about 50 other parents, taxpayers and teachers were at Davis on Monday for a town hall meeting where York City School District officials talked of the recommendation to shut down the school.

The district would have to spend more than $5 million just to bring the building up to code and classroom standards, said Brad Harman, director of buildings and grounds.

So be it, Eckles-Ray said.

"It would be worth the investment to renovate the school," she said and added that her son is in fifth grade at Davis and has had a "a very positive experience" at the school.

Repairing Davis is better than relocating students to other schools, she said.

"So, now we're just going to start (moving) kids around . . . This is horrible," she said. "The parents need to start having a voice," Eckles-Ray said and added that the school board seems to have "made up its mind" on the proposal. "We're trying to rebuild our education system . . . Davis offers a solid foundation."

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officials said their plan considered the best use of the district's facilities, taxpayer dollars and quality of education for students.

The district also proposed a change in boundaries for the schools and moving fifth-grade students to the middle schools.

Some parents were concerned about transportation to new buildings.

Others said the district is working to create an overall best-case scenario.

"They're doing what they have to do but nothing in excess," said Karen Gleba, an electrical engineer who has a child in first grade and another who will be in kindergarten in the district.

Dawn Squire, who has kids in fourth and seventh grades in city schools, said a plan to create an intermediate curriculum in the middle schools makes sense.

She also said the district considered input from residents at prior meetings.

"I like the fact that they listened to our concerns," she said.

AT A GLANCE

The York City School Board this month could vote on a proposal to:

  • close Phineas Davis Elementary School

  • move some students from Goode and Devers elementary schools to Ferguson Elementary

  • move fifth-grade students from elementary to middle school buildings

  • create several new early learning classrooms

  • renovate Roosevelt, McKinley and Jackson elementary schools

    Also of interest

    · Who was Phineas Davis, city school's namesake?

    · Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades.