If the Selma City School Board moves ahead with plans to close Byrd Elementary School ahead of the 2013-2014 school year, they will at least have faced residents quite unhappy with the decision.

The board faced down a roomful of concerned Byrd parents and Old Town residents Thursday during the board’s regular meeting, oddly enough, held at Byrd Elementary School.

Although not originally part of the meeting’s agenda, board members made time for a session for those attending to make comments about the proposed school closure plan that would shutter Byrd, School of Discovery and the Phoenix School.

“I grew up here and this is my school,” Margaret Reaves, Byrd Parent-Teacher Organization vice president, said. Reaves, who attended Byrd as a child, has two children who attend Byrd. “It would really hurt me for anything to happen to this school. If you close Byrd you are going to hurt a lot of parents who grew up here.”

At times during the meeting, and following the meeting, board president Henry Hicks Sr., said the decision to close the schools is months away and that the public’s input will be welcomed at meetings such as Thursday’s and during a series of public hearings scheduled.

“This is a conversation,” Hicks said. “This is not a done deal.”

But, that done deal may not be that far away. Selma City Schools superintendent of education Donald Jefferson said there is not fixed timeline, but he would like the board to make a decision on which schools to close no later than April.

“We want to make sure we get as much input from the residents and information from the state on upcoming cuts as we can before the board is asked to make a decision,” Jefferson said. “There’s a lot of work to be done before we get to that point.”

It’s uncertain when the town meetings will begin or when the school board will make its decision.

But with proration taking about $9 million from the school’s budget during the last two years, the cost of constructing a new high school and expected proration this year to cost the school district at least another $3 million, there’s not a way around cutting expenses, Jefferson said.

Parents and those who live close to the school want an alternative.

“This is a good school and it is within walking distance,” April Huff said. Huff’s grandchildren attend Byrd and she worries what might happen if they are moved to Knox Elementary. “Would they have to take a bus to another school? Is it safe enough to walk to? There is no crime in the neighborhood like some of the others. It’s just a good, safe school.”

Byrd Elementary PTO president Dorothy Reeves echoed Huff’s sentiments. Reeves said Byrd is in a safer area than the alternative.

“We are in a safe, centrally located area,” she said. “It is unpopulated by gang affiliation and drugs. Our local neighborhood supports the school as volunteers. Byrd has also had no break-ins in over 13 years.”

Nancy Bennett, whose children also attended Byrd School years ago, voiced concerns with the neighborhood surrounding Knox.

“It is my understanding that Knox has been on lockdown due to problems in the neighborhood,” she said. “That has not happened with Byrd.”

Reeves said it would make more sense to bring the Knox students to Byrd if schools must be consolidated. Byrd, she said, can house 380 students and its cafeteria can accommodate enough workers to serve those students. She also said the library is large enough to add shelving and more books.

The school, she said, has consistently been one of the highest performing in the system.

Bennett said she would like to see demographic studies before a decision is made. She said contrary to belief Byrd is in a very diverse area of town.

“This is not a black-white issue even though I have heard that Byrd is a white school,” she said. “Byrd is in a very racially and economically mixed district and I can’t say the same for Knox.”

Jefferson said he hopes to have a schedule of public sessions out soon and is working to have one scheduled before the end of January.

Times-Journal editor Tim Reeves and news editor Rick Couch contributed to this report.