The Selma School Board is holding a public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 22, from 6 until 7 p.m. at the School of Discovery, to hear from the public about proposed school closures.

It’s expected the school board will vote on this issue later this spring. The closures would not become effective until 2013.

Selma schools superintendent Donald Jefferson has recommended closing Byrd Elementary, the School of Discovery and the Phoenix School, an alternative school. The proposed closures could save about $500,000 a year, Jefferson said.

Emery Hicks, a local resident, has started a website savebyrdschool.com. He and others of the Old Town Historic District have said they want to keep Byrd School open, instead of closing the facility and moving all the students to Knox School.

Even some school board members, like Brenda Obomanu, aren’t convinced closing down any schools will save the money forecast by Jefferson.

She has pointed to additional transportation costs as possibly offsetting any savings realized by shuttering schools.

But she and the others are willing to listen.

“The bottom line is what we want to do is what is best for the children of Selma,” she said.