The Meridian School Board met Monday night and one of the key items on the agenda is the district's oldest school.

In the past there have been talks about the possible closure of Witherspoon Elementary. A city leader spoke out about what this could mean.

"Witherspoon needs to stay here," said Ward 2 city councilperson and council president, Mary Perry, also a retired educator.

With the distinction of being the district's oldest school, Perry says tearing down the structure, which was built in 1888, is understandable but completely moving the school and its students could hurt the city as a whole.

"This community needs its school, and you would have all kind of kids trying to get in this school if you built a new school," said Perry. "Parents will feel that we care for the community and you'll even see homes start to go back in place as they should and so I'm hoping that's what will happen."

However, Perry said if a new school is not built in this same location, the already economically challenged community where Witherspoon now sits could be hurt even more.

"The school has some stimulus money and they can also apply for some grant money," said Perry. "One of our educational problems is that the state, sometimes they don't fully fund education. Well, they have fully funded education. That doesn't necessarily mean the building, but there needs to be some building funds included, especially in a place like this. Witherspoon should be a priority for this neighborhood."