Hundreds gathered in Jackson Township Saturday to say goodbye to their elementary school which the district was forced to close due to a major budget shortfall.

Current students, alumni who now have their own children and even some of the school principals from decades ago came together outside the Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School.

S-2, the state’s funding formula, aims to redistribute aid from overfunded districts to the underfunded. The superintendent says Jackson received the 10th highest cut over the last seven years, which left them with an $18 million deficit.

State monitors said the only way forward was to sell Rosenauer, cut 70 positions and raise the property tax levy.

Former students signed their names on the wall, caught up with their former classmates and teachers and even made one last visit to the playground.