Barack H. Obama Elementary School to Close

Asbury Park school hit by declining enrollment over decade
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2011 5:14 PM CDT
Barack H. Obama Elementary School to Close
President Obama speaks at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Va., Monday, March 14, 2011.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Just a year after it was renamed to honor President Barack Obama, an elementary school in New Jersey's Asbury Park is closing, the Asbury Park Press reports. The school's enrollment has dropped 35% over the last decade, so it got the short straw when the district opted to shut one down.

When administrators renamed the school, they took criticism for what was seen as a superfluous move at a troubled school, notes Yahoo's the Ticket blog. The main proponent, who argued that students would get a "subliminal boost" by the new name, says she's on board with the closing if it's for the students' greater good. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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