Barack H. Obama Elementary School in NJ will close

Asbury Park, NJ (AP) - A central New Jersey elementary school that was renamed in honor of President Barack Obama last year will soon be closed.

The state monitor who oversees financial operations for the Asbury Park School District cited declining enrollment for the decision announced Thursday.

Monitor Bruce Rodman told the Asbury Park Press newspaper the Barack H. Obama elementary school will be closed July 1.

The school was built more than a century ago and formerly was known as the Bangs Avenue School.

Students who now attend classes there will be reassigned to the district's two other elementary schools for the next school year.

The state's Schools Development Authority had planned to build a new school to replace the historic building, but those plans recently were canceled.