The Buchanan school district could gain as many as 90 students if the Galien Township school district is forced to close its doors at the end of the month.

The Galien School Board voted Wednesday to lay off all teachers and support staff due to mounting budget problems and declining enrollment. Galien is currently unable to repay the state around $500,000 it received from overstating enrollment numbers.

If Galien is forced to close, its students will have to go somewhere. The two most likely destinations are the Buchanan and River Valley school districts, although Galien Supt. Tim Allard said he has been authorized to pursue cooperative agreements with all districts in Berrien County.

“The No. 1 goal right now is to stay open, but if we can’t the next goal would be to make the transition for our students and families as smooth as possible,” Allard said.

Buchanan Supt. Andrea van der Laan said her district would be willing to take in Galien students if Galien is forced to close.

“We absolutely would,” van der Laan said. “We have a great school system and great teachers and would do our best to welcome them here.”

Galien currently sends its high school students to River Valley through a cooperative agreement, meaning Buchanan would not absorb Galien high school students. However, van der Laan said Buchanan could take in all 90 students enrolled in Galien’s kindergarten through eighth grade classes. Buchanan currently has 1,084 kids enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade.

“We have the room for every kid they have there. We would make it work,” she said.

Buchanan currently has 114 students from Galien enrolled in its district.

Galien is located about nine miles west of Buchanan. As for transportation, van der Laan said Buchanan already has buses traveling to the Galien area, so providing transportation for Galien students would not be difficult.

Taking in Galien students would impact Buchanan’s school aid fund, but not until October. Van der Laan said the October payment is based on a February student count.

The fate of the Galien school district could be decided Wednesday when it meets with state officials to discuss options for possible state aid or relief.

The Galien School Board’s next meeting is Dec. 12.

Allard said he has no preference as to where the students would go in the event that Galien is forced to close.

“We will explore all possible cooperative agreements in order to give our kids and families as many options as possible,” he said.