Millersburg honors elementary school ahead of planned closure

Millersburg Village Council brought a proclamation to Millersburg Elementary on May 27, honoring a school that has served the village for more than 100 years even as West Holmes Local Schools moves toward consolidating its elementary buildings into one new K-5 campus.

Mayor Kelly Hoffee, several council members and West Holmes Schools Superintendent Eric Jurkovic visited the student body and staff to present the recognition. The building, which dates to 1913, has long been a centerpiece of village life, and the council used the moment to mark both its history and the uncertainty ahead as closure plans move forward.

The district has said it intends to combine its four elementary schools, Millersburg, Killbuck, Lakeville and Nashville, into a single new building by 2026. West Holmes formed a Facilities Advisory Committee in November 2022 to review building assessments and needs, and after four public meetings in April and May 2023, the committee recommended construction of a new elementary school. On Dec. 6, 2023, the district sold $40 million in Certificates of Participation to help finance the project, and West Holmes says the new school should be ready for the 2026-27 school year.

For Millersburg families, the change reaches beyond the school day. A closing elementary shifts where children start and end their routines, where parents drop off and pick up, and where neighborhood life gathers around a familiar building in the village center. The council’s proclamation underscored that the loss is not only educational but civic, because the school has anchored generations of local students and families.

The stakes have been visible in nearby Nashville, where residents and council members have argued that their elementary school serves as a community hub, the only playground in the area and the only place for area sports. In Millersburg, village packet materials have already pointed to a final Arbor Day celebration at Millersburg Elementary in spring 2026, with later references to the property being auctioned off by the school board. As West Holmes moves toward one central elementary school, the old building’s role in village life is already giving way to its next chapter.