Original Research by School Decision on Currie Elementary School
Currie Elementary School serves kindergarten through second grade in Cortland, Ohio, as part of the Mathews Local district. The school closed after the 2023–24 school year when Mathews consolidated its K–5 program into a single building in Vienna. The enrollment was small, around 146 students at the time of closure.
The student population was predominantly white, with a substantial majority of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting moderate economic need. Special education and English learner enrollment data were not available in the reporting records. The school operated as a traditional public elementary school, serving the early grades only, so state testing results do not apply and offer no basis for academic comparison.
Cortland itself is a small, steadily growing residential city on the eastern shore of Mosquito Creek Lake, part of the Youngstown-Warren metro. The housing market has been active and appreciating, with a median listed price in the middle-range for the region and most homes dating to the late 1960s and 1970s. New construction has expanded in subdivisions like St. Andrews and Shepherds Hill. The town is woodsy and car-dependent, with limited walkability outside a revitalized Main Street corridor that has drawn new shops and restaurants in recent years. Public anchors include Mosquito Lake State Park adjacent to the city, Eastlake Metro Park, and Pearl Park with its playground and splash pad.
The broader Mathews Local district underwent significant structural change. After Currie's closure, all K–5 students moved to the renamed Mathews Elementary in Vienna, where a new addition and a recently completed gymnasium have expanded physical capacity. The district operates as a two-building system: Mathews Elementary for grades K–5 and Mathews High School for grades 6–12. This consolidation eliminated the previous two-building K–2 and 3–5 split that had defined early-grade organization for years.
Parents considering this area should know that Mathews Local has faced recurring property-tax pressure. In early 2026 the district publicly proposed cutting soccer, indoor track, and esports and freezing coaches' pay in response to projected revenue losses from expanded state tax credits; after community pushback, the cuts were reversed. The district nonetheless maintains one of the broader activity slates for a school its size in the county, and it funded a new elementary gymnasium without a tax levy increase by using property-sale proceeds and prior savings. This balance of rich program offerings and underlying budget constraint is the operating reality a family would enter.
See more original research from School Decision →