GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — An incoming class of kindergarten students at a Grand Island elementary school will be moved to a different school next academic year.

The school district says the change will send the kindergarten students from Seedling Mile Elementary to Stolley Park Elementary for the 2024-25 school year. Only nine students were enrolled for the grade at Seedling Mile.

The district says the change will increase efficiency and help with staffing concerns.

“When we look at the overall needs of our district this move to not offer Kindergarten at Seedling Mile is a logical measure for us to take,” superintendent Matt Fisher said in a statement. “Schools across the state, and the nation, are struggling to find teachers to staff classrooms. In this environment, where we have to find the best use for every teacher, we cannot justify serving only nine students with a teacher.”

Even with the new students, the class size at Stolley Park will be small enough to keep two units of kindergarten.

The nine students will be invited to attend Stolley Park’s annual Kindergarten Round-Up event in May. Seedling Mile and Stolley Park are about five miles apart.