This school year will be James O. Kaler Elementary School’s last.

The South Portland School Board voted at its meeting Monday to close the elementary school on Kelsey Street at the end of the school year. 

The remaining elementary schools will be reconfigured by primary and intermediate grade levels. 

Helena H. Dyer and Dora L. Small elementary schools will serve pre-kindergarten through first grade, and Frank I. Brown and Waldo T. Skillin elementary schools will house second through fourth grades, relocating hundreds of students, not just the 164 who currently attend Kaler.

Class sizes would increase for all grade levels, and some staff members will have to move schools. 

With the restructuring, the district estimates having capacity for 232 students at Dyer, 240 at Small, 248 at Brown and 384 at Skillin. There are 197 students at Dyer, 190 at Small, 201 at Brown, 310 at Skillin and 182 at Kaler this school year. 

This option encourages more grade-level collaboration and teacher support, and allows all schools to reflect the demographics of the district, said Bethany Connolly, principal of Skillin.

The move will save the district $3.1 million for this year’s budget and $16.4 million over the next five years. 

The school district has to cut about $8.4 million from its proposed budget to hold the tax increase to 6%, the higher end of what school board members and city councilors have recommended, according to Assistant Superintendent Johanna Prince. 

“This decision is not about savings just this year,” board member Tyler Smith said. “It’s about putting our district back on track so we’re not in the same position two or three years from now having these same arguments and discussions.”

This transition, which will unfold over the next five months, will involve community engagement, including meetings at each school — one for staff members and another for families — as well as opportunities for online comments. 

“I know I want to know where my kids are going to school,” board member Eleni Richardson said. “We all want that.”

A committee, with representation from all schools, will be set up to oversee the process. This body will also include representatives for multilingual students and students with Individualized Education Plans. 

The district has already hired companies to look into transportation logistics and moving estimates. It can lease the vacant building for up to four years before deciding to extend that time period or decommission, which could generate revenue.