ROBESON COUNTY -- The fate of one Robeson County Elementary School is uncertain.

Southside-Ashpole Elementary School in Rowland is facing state take-over, or else it could be shut-down all together, leaving some parents and students in limbo.

Spectrum News Reporter Madison Cavalchire spoke to parents who worry where their children might end up next year.

Roxanne Green says Southside-Ashpole Elementary School has a special place in her heart.

“It’s special to me because I went there and it was a good school, my mother went there and it was a good school then too,” Green said. “I just want the school to stay open.”

But the school’s future is uncertain.

The school was approved for inclusion in the state’s new innovative school district, a program designed to improve low-performing schools.

Now, the County School Board must accept or reject the inclusion by February first.

If the Board rejects, the only option is to close the school and transfer its 270 students to other schools in the district.

"The school isn't worth staying open,” said parent, Cynthia McKenzie. “If they change it over to a Charter School, that would be fine, but I'd rather they close it and transfer my child to Union Elementary."

In a resolution, Board Members said they don’t want Southside-Ashpole to be included in the state’s innovative school district.

Instead – they’ve asked for time to develop an improvement plan for the elementary school.

But some parents, like Cynthia McKenzie, say the school’s not worth saving.

“I’d rather it close down because the kids aren’t learning anything there anyways,” McKenzie said.

Some parents say shutting-down the school and transferring students would be a bad idea because over half of the district’s schools have been deemed low-performing.

"I'd rather the state take it over so it can stay open, so the children can still learn and go to the same school,” Roxanne Green said. “It’s right in the neighborhood." 

There will be a community meeting Tuesday night for concerned parents at the Expo Center on Lane Street in Rowland at 6 p.m.