Old Bridge Plans To Close 1 Of Its 11 Elementary Schools

OLD BRIDGE, NJ — Like several other large suburban school districts across the state, Old Bridge intends to close a school this year.

The Old Bridge school district seeks to close Leroy Gordon Cooper Elementary school, effective September of this year. That means the school would not reopen once students leave it in June.

This is on a recommendation from school superintendent Vince Sasso, who announced April 22 the district would like to close the school, according to news reports. The very next day, parents launched two Change.org petitions to stop the school from closing:

Demand for Transparency and Reconsideration of school closures Decision

Stop Gordon Cooper Elementary School from being closed

Sasso said closing the school will save money as well as streamline costs for the district.

This comes at a time when many suburban school districts across New Jersey are experiencing reduced funding from the state:

In North Jersey, Montclair school district closed a middle school this year. In Middletown, for the second year in a row, the district attempted to close two elementary schools and a middle school. In 2025, the district backed off the plan after immense parent outcry. This year, the school board approved the closure but then said last week it ran out of time to close the schools in time for September.