SALISBURY — The fate of Woodleaf and Cleveland elementary schools was decided quietly Monday, with no opposition and little discussion.

A public hearing for the slated closure of the two schools was held during the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education’s monthly business meeting.

The merger of the two schools into a brand new school was originally proposed in 2008. The two are among the oldest schools in the county and have high maintenance costs.

Community backlash shut down conversations about the potential merger until 2014, when the school board pushed the idea through. Funding for the new facility was procured through an April 2014 mediated settlement between the school board and the Rowan County Board of Commissioners.

Discussions at Monday’s public hearing centered mostly on transportation to and from the chosen location behind the current Cleveland Elementary School.

According to school system Transportation Director Tim Beck, it’s expected that the new location will add roughly 15 to 25 minutes to some route times.

Currently, the shortest ride time at Cleveland or Woodleaf elementary is a 47-minute ride at Woodleaf. The longest ride is a 69-minute route at Cleveland Elementary.

At the new facility, the shortest projected bus route would be 41 minutes, but the longest projected route — at 80 minutes — would be significantly longer than any existing route. Three other projected routes for the school clock in at a potential 79 minutes.

While none of the projected routes exceeds the district’s 90-minute limit, board member Travis Allen said he was still concerned about the amount of time students would spend on the bus.

But Beck urged caution.

“I want to be careful when we talk about routes,” he said.

Route times were calculated not necessarily by how long students would be on a bus but on how long it would take a bus to leave and then return to a school. The district also tries to balance ride times — if a student has a long ride in the morning, he is likely to get a short ride in the afternoon.

But Allen said he was still concerned about the number of routes that would approach the district limit.

“It’s not just one, it’s five or six. … That’s a concern for me,” he said.

Allen asked if it would be possible to add more buses or make other changes to shorten routes.

“We’re prepared to do whatever we have to do to keep it under 90 minutes. And that’s route time. That doesn’t mean the student is on the bus for an hour and 30 minutes; it means the driver is on the driver is on the bus for an hour and 30 minutes,” Beck said.”

Beck reminded the board that the route times were just an estimate. It should be possible to shorten routes, especially for students at the farthest end of the county.

Only one person spoke during the public hearing — a resident of Woodleaf who urged the board to get new buses to go with a new building.

The commissioners have agreed to contribute $27.5 million to the building, which is expected to cost a total of $27.8 million. According to a final proposal for the new school, the state of Cleveland and Woodleaf elementaries made renovating those buildings unfeasible.

The new school will be more than 100,000 square feet and be capable of housing more than 800 students. It is scheduled to be complete in December 2018.

According to a final proposal, school officials believe that a new building will have a positive impact on students, offering new and inviting learning spaces. The merger would also reduce recurring expenditures by reducing administrative and operational staff. A new building would also offer energy savings over current facilities.

Allen made a motion to support the closure and merging on Woodleaf and Cleveland elementaries, and board member Richard Miller seconded it. The motion passed unanimously.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.