We feel for those in Youngsville and Sheffield upset with the decision to close high schools in their communities – particularly the Youngsville voices who speak the loudest at school board meetings.

It’s difficult to see things that have long been a part of the community change, whether it’s a longtime business closing, a landmark being torn down or a school building being closed. Our small townships and boroughs have had a rhythm to them that is difficult to change.

But change we must.

It simply isn’t feasible to keep four high schools running in Warren County. For all the concerns we’ve heard about how it’s important to keep Youngsville and Sheffield open as a way to attract new residents to those areas, hard data says keeping the schools open hasn’t been attracting enough new residents. Census data released in June 2024 shows the city of Warren’s population fell 2.9% from 2020 to 2023 while Sheffield’s population decreased 3.1% and Youngsville’s population decreased 2.9% over the same time period.

Closing schools isn’t a change anyone wants to make. It’s the type of change that needs to be made. Keeping the same buildings open to educate fewer students year after year eventually leads to the type of cuts that mean education in Warren County isn’t equitable for anyone.

As this process continues the north star to follow for both Warren County School District officials and the Youngsville and Sheffield communities must be making education as equitable as possible for district students under the new configuration of high schools rather than comparing it to the old configuration. Looking back, at this point, doesn’t do us much good. We have to look forward.