BELOIT, Ohio - The West Branch School Board has decided to move forward with closing one of its schools.

The board authorized plans to close Knox Elementary Thursday night.

Knox Elementary was picked to close and was one of three options the board had to choose from.

While Knox Elementary is set to close, Damascus Elementary will become a pre-K through second-grade facility rather than closing.

The change to Damascus Elementary means the middle school will now become a third grade through eighth-grade facility.

That move will save the school district nearly $1 million.

West Branch superintendent Tim Saxton spoke with 21 News about the changes.

"THE DISTRICT HAS A HISTORIC PATTERN IN TERMS OF LEVieS NOT PASSING, AND I REALIZE THAT, AND OUR BOARD REALIZES THAT. HAVING SOME REAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THAT IMPACTS FOLKS IN A LARGE DISTRICT LIKE OURS, WE FINALLY SAT BACK AND SAID OKAY, SO WE NEED TO APPROACH THIS DIFFERENTLY," said Saxton.

Saxton told 21 News that they still need to finalize the decision but are planning on having the changes in place by the fall.

They say the changes will have a minimal effect on staffing.